The People’s Bank of China made unexpected changes to its method of calculating social financing on Wednesday, the South China Morning Post reports, widening the category following recent shake-ups to how local governments source their finances.
Total social financing, previously made up of bank loans, corporate bonds and IPOs, will now include special purpose bonds issued by local authorities. The metric is used as a gauge of how and how much money is flowing around the economy. A growing figure points to a climate of easing and stronger growth in the near future.
The revised definition rockets September’s total social financing to Rmb 2.21 trillion ($318 billion), compared with the previously calculated Rmb 1.47 trillion excluding the bonds.
There was no prior warning of the change, but an accompanying statement from the central bank said it was necessary given a recent uptick in special purpose bonds. The statement offered revised monthly social financing figures back to January 2017, factoring in the bonds.