According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) and commercial real estate loans (CRELs) both decreased in April 2022. With regard to the outstanding balances, both RMLs and CRELs witnessed declines.
New lending approved
In April 2022, new RMLs approved by Macao banks fell by 37.9% month-to-month to MOP1.65 billion. Of which, new RMLs to residents, representing 98.7% of the total, dropped by 37.8% to MOP1.63 billion; the non-resident component also decreased by 47.7% to MOP21.5 million. The monthly average of new RMLs approved between February and April 2022 was MOP2.1 billion, down by 22.6% from the previous period (January to March 2022).
New RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) fell by 65.8% month-to-month to MOP153.1 million. On an annual basis, new equitable mortgage approved dropped by 48.0%.
New CRELs decreased by 30.3% month-to-month to MOP1.65 billion. Within this total, new CRELs to residents, which occupied 99.9% of the total, decreased by 30.1% to MOP1.65 billion; new CRELs to non-residents also dropped to MOP1.8 million. The monthly average of new CRELs approved between February and April 2022 was MOP4.7 billion, a decline of 10.1% from the previous period (January to March 2022).
Outstanding balances
As at end-April 2022, the outstanding value of RMLs dropped by 0.3% month-to-month but rose by 1.4% from a year earlier to MOP238.0 billion, attributable to the repayment of loans with large denomination. Of which, the resident component made up 94.9% of the loans. When compared with the previous month, outstanding RMLs to residents and non-residents decreased by 0.3% and 1.3% respectively.
The outstanding value of CRELs fell by 0.4% month-to-month but rose by 0.3% from a year earlier to MOP160.2 billion. Residents accounted for 93.6% of the loans. Compared with a month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents dropped by 0.5% whereas those to non-residents stayed virtually unchanged.
Delinquency ratios
At the end of April 2022, the delinquency ratio for RMLs remained virtually unchanged from the previous month at 0.35%, but up by 0.11 percentage points over a year earlier. The ratio for CRELs was 0.74%, up by 0.12 percentage points from a month ago or 0.19 percentage points from end-April 2021.
Residential mortgage loans refer to credit facilities provided by banks to individuals and enterprises that are collateralised by residential real estate in Macao. They include loans to finance purchase of residential properties and other purposes (such as refinancing loans, working capital and trade financing.). Commercial real estate loans refer to credit facilities provided by banks to individuals and enterprises that are collateralised by commercial real estate in Macao. They include loans to construction companies and loans to finance property development and investment.