China’s banks issued US$75 billion in new loans in March, down from US$102 billion the previous month, as the government took further steps to slow credit growth, state media reported. However, the March figure puts total new loans for the first quarter at US$380 billion compared to the government’s target of US$330 billion for the January-March period. The People’s Bank of China said first quarter new loans equal about half the US$670 billion issued the same time last year. "The pace of credit growth will gradually return to normal as the record money supply from a year back would help shore the Chinese economy effectively," a person close to the banking regulator said. China has set a full year new loan target of US$1.1 trillion.
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