China’s Credit Expansion Keeps Slowing as Loans Disappoint
- A broad measure of credit expanded at slowest pace on record
- Slow growth in loans suggests borrowing demand still weak
This article is for subscribers only.
China’s credit expansion continued to slow in March and banks extended less loans than expected, reflecting still-weak borrowing demand as the central bank refrained from easing monetary policy.
The stock of aggregate financing, a broad measure of credit, expanded 8.7% from a year ago, the slowest pace on record since the data began in 2017. Financial institutions offered 3.1 trillion yuan worth of new loans, according to Bloomberg calculations based on data released by the People’s Bank of China on Friday, less than the 3.6 trillion yuan predicted by economists. The growth of the loans was the lowest pace since data began in 2003.