CBRC chairman promises closer monitoring of new loans

The chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said that the regulator would ensure that "every cent" of bank loans this year enters the real economy, Reuters reported, citing an interview in state media. Liu Mingkang echoed comments made by Wen Jiabao at the National People’s Congress, saying that the year ahead "will be extremely complex and full of uncertainties." "Faced with inflation expectations, we will have to deal with the problems of ample liquidity while at the same time maintaining continuity and stability in our policies," Liu said. A report in the China Securities Journal said China’s banks issued US$102.5 billion in new loans in February, about half of January’s total.