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 increased in September 2016. With regard to the outstanding balance, RMLs increased whereas CRELs witnessed a mild decrease. New lending approved In September 2016, new RMLs approved by Macao banks increased by 44.3% month-to-month to MOP5.4 billion. Of which, new RMLs to residents, accounting for 98.8% of the total, rose by 49.2% to MOP5.3 billion, mainly attributed to larger loan size recorded for a number of approvals. In contrast, the non-resident component dropped by 60.6%. When compared with the same period of 2015, new approvals of RMLs increased by 48.2%. New RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) decreased by 14.8% from the preceding month to MOP252.9 million. Attributable to a higher comparison base in the same period last year, new equitable mortgage approved dropped by 75.4% on an annual basis. New CRELs rose by 21.5% month-to-month to MOP9.0 billion. On an annual basis, new approvals of CRELs declined by 13.9%. Outstanding balances As at end-September 2016, the outstanding value of RMLs was MOP178.6 billion, an increase of 0.4% from one month earlier or 5.0% from a year ago. The resident component made up 93.5% of the total. When compared with the previous month, outstanding RMLs to residents and non-residents rose by 0.3% and 1.0% respectively. The outstanding value of CRELs reached MOP169.8 billion, down slightly by 0.1% month-to-month or up by 10.4% when compared with a year ago. Residents accounted for 89.0% of the loans. Compared with a month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents decreased by 0.2% whereas those to non-residents rose by 0.4%. Delinquency ratios At the end of September 2016, the delinquency ratio for RMLs was 0.15%, virtually unchanged from a month ago but up 0.07 percentage points from a year ago. The ratio for CRELs was also unchanged from one month earlier but up 0.1 percentage point from end-September 2015, to 0.11%.
