New yuan lending slows in city's second quarter

By Zhang Fengming  |   2008-7-11  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

NEW yuan lending slowed in the second quarter in Shanghai, the Shanghai headquarters of the People's Bank of China said yesterday.

New yuan lending slowed to 72.12 billion yuan (US$10.5 billion) in the second quarter, 19.61 billion yuan less than that of the first quarter, the central bank said. New yuan lending in Shanghai added 163.85 billion yuan in the first half, about 63 percent of last year's total. It is 16 billion yuan more than the year-ago level.

At domestic banks in Shanghai, new yuan lending added 64.7 billion yuan in the second half, down 6.75 billion yuan.

The central bank is curbing commercial banks' lending growth amid its tight monetary policy. New yuan savings rose in the first half, mainly due to the slumping stock market and the expectation for interest rates of the tight monetary policy, the central bank said.

High inflation also fueled speculation of higher interest rates to tame inflation.

And a lackluster stock market led capital back to bank counters.