According to the report from the People's Bank of China (PBoC), in March, Chinese banks provided new loans in yuan in the amount of 3.890 trillion yuan. Thus, credit growth accelerated sharply compared to February (1.81 trillion yuan). It was also the largest amount of new bank loans for a March month since at least 2004, as policymakers pledged to step up support for the economy. Economists had expected lending to grow to 3.3 trillion yuan.
Meanwhile, total social financing grew by 2.22 trillion yuan compared to February, to 5.38 trillion yuan. It was the highest level of total social financing for a March month on record. Consensus estimates suggested an increase to 4.5 trillion yuan. Growth of outstanding total social financing accelerated to 10% from 9.9% in February.
The PBoC said that in March, M2, the widest measure of money supply, rose by 12.7% per annum, as expected, after increasing by 12.9% per annum in February. Outstanding loans in yuan increased by 11.8% per annum (the strongest growth since October 2021) compared with an increase of 11.6% per annum in February. Consensus estimates suggested an increase of 11.7% per annum.