Credit slowdown signals tighter PBOC control

Credit growth slowed last month in China, possibly signaling that the People’s Bank of China, China’s central bank, is tightening rules as it attempts to keep lending and inflation under control, The Wall Street Journal reported. Chinese banks made a net US$83 billion (RMB 506.1 billion) of new local currency loans in October, down from US$129 billion (RMB 787 billion) in September and the lowest monthly figure so far this year. Total social financing, a broader measure of credit creation that includes bond issuance and other forms of lending, fell from US$229 billion (RMB 1.4 trillion) in September to US$142 billion (RMB 865.4 billion) in October.