Bank Lending Exceeded Annual Target

(Beijing) -- Chinese banks lent a total of 7.95 trillion yuan in 2010, above the annual target of 7.5 trillion yuan, putting additional pressure on Beijing to control credit growth.

In December 2010, new lending was 480.7 billion yuan, 100.7 billion yuan higher than the same period in 2009. UBS economist Wang Tao had predicted the December figure to be around 300 billion yuan following fast credit growth in September, October and November.

When the financial crisis struck in 2008, the Chinese government adopted a loose monetary policy. In 2009, commercial banks lent a total of 9.6 trillion yuan, up from about 5 trillion yuan in years preceding 2008.