What’s new: China’s credit growth fell below analysts’ expectations in September, reflecting weakening corporate financing demand amid property market turmoil.
Aggregate financing was 2.9 trillion yuan ($450 billion), the People’s Bank of China said Wednesday. That compares with 2.96 trillion yuan in August and 3.47 trillion yuan in September last year. The median estimate in a Caixin survey of 15 institutions was 3.25 trillion yuan.
China's outstanding total social financing, a broad measure of credit and liquidity in the economy, was 308.05 trillion yuan at the end of September, the lowest level this year.
New bank loan issuance totaled 1.66 trillion yuan in the month, up from 1.22 trillion yuan in August.
The context: The slower credit growth reflected China’s tightened control over financing in the property sector, which has been shaken by the China Evergrande Group debt crisis and spreading default risks.
Housing sales in major cities weakened in September, leading to lower mortgage growth. Meanwhile, industrial companies have remained cautious about expanding investment, according to research by Bank of Communications.
But analysts generally said they expect credit growth to accelerate in the fourth quarter.
Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (hello@caixin.com)
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