Bank loan growth drops over cooling measures

Bank loans in China increased by US$11.8 billion in November, less than US$14.4 billion rise recorded during the same period last year, China Business Net reported (in Chinese). Loan growth in November slowed by 0.63% from October, making it the first month with negative credit growth this year. The slowdown has been attributed to the recent restrictive monetary policies adopted by the central bank in order to control the credit scale. The People's Bank of China has raised lenders' reserve requirement every month this year except March and July, and has increased interest rates five times. The total balance of loans in November stood at US$3.5 trillion.