China’s loan growth weakened sharply in April to the worst level in almost five years, with mortgage loans contracting again as Covid lockdowns and the property market slump disrupted economic activity and sapped borrowing demand, reports Caixin.
Financial institutions offered RMB 645 billion ($94.9 billion) of new loans in the month, down from RMB 3.1 trillion in March, the People’s Bank of China said Friday. That was the lowest level since December 2017 and less than half the estimate of RMB 1.5 trillion.
Aggregate financing, a broad measure of credit, stood at RMB 910 billion, the worst level since February 2020 when the whole country was basically locked down to control the first outbreak of Covid-19. The stock of outstanding credit grew 10.2% to RMB 326 trillion, slower than the 10.6% expansion in March.