CICC sees China loans surging to highest since crisis stimulus

[BEIJING] China International Capital Corp said China's new lending may have surged in January to the highest monthly total since a stimulus programme during the global financial crisis.

The 1.6 trillion yuan (S$344 billion) estimate by Huang Jie and Mao Junhua in Beijing in a note Thursday compares with a peak of 1.89 trillion yuan in March 2009, Bloomberg data show. The investment-bank analysts said they understood that the central bank had guided banks to boost lending from late January as part of loosening efforts.

China cut banks' reserve requirements this week, freeing up cash to aid the nation's faltering growth. In 2008 and 2009, the nation rolled out an unprecedented stimulus program to support the economy, fueling credit risks that officials are still working to contain.

The CICC new-lending estimate is higher than the 1.35 trillion yuan median in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The analysts weren't immediately available by phone Friday for further comment. Their note didn't give a forecast for this month.

BLOOMBERG