November loans nearly double

Chinese banks extended 1.21 trillion yuan (HK1.35 trillion) in new yuan loans in November, nearly doubling October's 615.2 billion yuan but falling short of analysts' expectations, according to People's Bank of China data released yesterday.

Household loans, including mortgages, rose to 262.7 billion yuan in November, versus a contraction of 18 billion yuan in October while corporate loans rose to 883.7 billion yuan from 462.2 billion yuan in October, data from the PBOC showed.

New loans totaled 19.91 trillion yuan in the January-November period, compared with a record 19.95 trillion yuan in 2021.

This came as Chinese regulators and state-owned banks are taking steps to split staff at their workplaces in Beijing, sources said, as businesses brace for a possible spike in Covid cases after China relaxed virus restrictions in a major policy shift.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission plans to allow only a couple of employees in each department to come to headquarters, and has asked some of them to prepare for a prolonged stay on the premises while Bank of China (3988) has released a notice to staff that it would split its Beijing workforce into three groups, working in the office on alternate weeks, they said.