According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) decreased while those of commercial real estate loans (CRELs) increased in April 2021. With regard to the outstanding balances, RMLs dropped whereas CRELs witnessed an increase.
New lending approved
In April 2021, new RMLs approved by Macao banks dropped by 20.4% month-to-month to MOP2.36 billion. Of which, new RMLs to residents, representing 98.3% of the total, decreased by 21.5% to MOP2.32 billion. On the other hand, the non-resident component grew to MOP41.1 million. The monthly average of new RMLs approved between February and April 2021 was MOP2.5 billion, down by 6.0% from the previous period (January to March 2021).
New RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) fell month-to-month by 6.4% to MOP294.6 million. On an annual basis, new equitable mortgage approved rose by 25.8%.
New CRELs grew by 177.7% month-to-month to MOP5.35 billion. Within this total, new CRELs to residents, which occupied 98.9% of the total, increased by 176.3% to MOP5.29 billion; new CRELs to non-residents also rose to MOP56.8 million. The monthly average of new CRELs approved between February and April 2021 was MOP3.0 billion, up by 24.3% as compared with the previous period (January to March 2021).
Outstanding balances
As at end-April 2021, the outstanding value of RMLs edged down by 0.1% month-to-month but rose by 1.5% from a year earlier to MOP234.8 billion, attributable to the repayment of loans with large denomination. Of which, the resident component made up 94.8% of the loans. When compared with the previous month, outstanding RMLs to residents stayed virtually unchanged whereas those to non-residents dropped by 1.4%.
The outstanding value of CRELs was MOP160.0 billion, which rose by 1.0% from a month earlier but dropped by 11.9% from a year ago. Residents accounted for 93.1% of the loans. Compared with a month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents increased by 1.1% whereas those to non-residents fell by 0.3%.
Delinquency ratios
At the end of April 2021, the delinquency ratio for RMLs was 0.24%, virtually unchanged from the previous month but down 0.02 percentage points over a year earlier. The ratio for CRELs stood at 0.49%, down 0.05 percentage points from a month ago but up 0.03 percentage points from end-April 2020.