China stems flood of credit
(15 June 2011 – China) New loans issued by Chinese banks fell sharply in May from previous months, in a sign Beijing’s efforts to stem a flood of credit in the economy are bearing fruit.
China's banks handed out 551.6 billion yuan (A$85.14 billion) in loans in May, compared with CNY739.6bn in April, and CNY100.5bn less than a year earlier, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement.
Analysts had expected CNY650bn in new loans, Dow Jones Newswires said.
Policy-makers have been pulling on a variety of levers to rein in bank lending on fears that soaring property prices and inflation - the latter of which has hovered above 5 percent - could trigger social unrest.
The central bank has hiked interest rates and increased the amount of money banks must keep in reserve numerous times in the past year.
Analysts had expected CNY650bn in new loans, Dow Jones Newswires said.
Policy-makers have been pulling on a variety of levers to rein in bank lending on fears that soaring property prices and inflation - the latter of which has hovered above 5 percent - could trigger social unrest.
The central bank has hiked interest rates and increased the amount of money banks must keep in reserve numerous times in the past year.
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