Business     

'Big four' banks' new lending doubles

Shanghai Daily, July 20, 2012

• The combined new lending at the four biggest banks surged 50 billion yuan (US$7.9 billion) in the first half of this month, twice as much as the month-ago amount. [Photo/CNS]

  China's "big four" banks doubled their pace of lending in the first half of July from the previous month.

  The combined new lending at the four biggest banks surged 50 billion yuan (US$7.9 billion) in the first half of this month, twice as much as the month-ago amount, Shanghai Securities News said yesterday, citing sources. But some market watchers believe total new bank loans in China may retreat to 650 billion yuan this month after hitting a three-month high of 919.8 billion yuan in June, the newspaper said.

  The "big four" lenders, namely the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, the Bank of China and the Agricultural Bank of China, account for 30-40 percent of total bank lending. They began extending loans for economy-stabilizing projects this month, which is expected to improve the lending structure, the newspaper said.

Copyright © China.org.cn. All Rights Reserved