BEIJING -- China's bank loans
in Renminbi had risen 14.8 percent year-on-year in November, the lowest monthly
increase since April, according to a report by the central bank.
The outstanding loans in RMB stood at 22.31 trillion yuan (2.85 trillion U.S.
dollars) as at the end of November, said the report released by the People's
Bank of China on Thursday.
Central bank figures show that new RMB loans in November were 193.5 billion
yuan, 31.5 billion yuan less than the previous month.
The soaring growth of loans has been reined in, said the report.
But the country's total new loans in 2006 will still be the highest since
2003. Chinese banks lent 2.97 trillion yuan in the first 11 months, far above
the government's target of 2.5 trillion yuan.
The central bank has raised the deposit reserve ratio three times this year
to encourage commercial banks to save more money in the central bank. It has
also raised the interest rate of loans twice.
