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 August 2016. With regard to the outstanding balance, RMLs and CRELs both witnessed monthly increases. New lending approved In August 2016, new RMLs approved by Macao banks increased by 6.0% month-to-month to MOP3.7 billion. Of which, new RMLs to residents, accounting for 95.6% of the total, rose by 3.2% to MOP3.5 billion while those to non-residents increased by 156.5% from a lower comparison base in the previous month. When compared with the same period of 2015, new approvals of RMLs dropped by 33.6%. New RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) increased by 26.9% from the preceding month to MOP296.8 million. The equitable mortgage extended to residents, which accounted for 98.8% of the total, increased by 32.3% to MOP293.3 million. Attributable to the higher comparison base in the same period last year, new equitable mortgage approved dropped by 74.6% on an annual basis. New CRELs surged by 111.4% month-to-month to MOP7.4 billion; of which, new CRELs to residents, accounting for 98.0% of the total, increased considerably by 230.9% to MOP7.3 billion, mainly attributed to larger loan amounts recorded for a number of approvals. In contrast, new CRELs to non-residents dropped by 88.9% from the previous month. On an annual basis, new approvals of CRELs declined by 23.6%. Outstanding balances As at end-August 2016, the outstanding value of RMLs was MOP177.9 billion, an increase of 0.4% from one month earlier or 5.3% from a year ago. The resident component made up 93.6% of the total. When compared with the previous month, outstanding RMLs to residents and non-residents rose by 0.3% and 1.6% respectively. Concurrently, the outstanding value of CRELs rose by 0.2% month-to-month or 13.1% year-on-year to MOP170.0 billion. Residents accounted for 89.0% of the loans. Compared with a month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents increased by 2.1% whereas those to non-residents dropped by 12.4%. Delinquency ratios At the end of August 2016, the delinquency ratio for RMLs was 0.15%, up 0.03 percentage points from a month ago or 0.06 percentage points from a year earlier. The ratio for CRELs was 0.11%, up 0.07 percentage points from a month ago or 0.06 percentage points from end-August 2015.
