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 July 2016. With regard to the outstanding balance, RMLs and CRELs both witnessed monthly increases. New lending approved In July 2016, new RMLs approved by Macao banks decreased by 25.7% month-to-month to MOP3.5 billion. Of which, new RMLs to residents, accounting for 98.2% of the total, fell by 5.7% while those to non-residents shrank by 94.0% from a higher comparison base in the previous month. When compared with the same period of 2015, new approvals of RMLs decreased by 16.5%. New RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) decreased moderately by 4.3% from the preceding month to MOP234.0 million. The equitable mortgage extended to residents, which accounted for 94.8% of the total, increased by 4.6% from the previous month. Attributable to the higher comparison base in the same period last year, new equitable mortgage approved dropped by 71.0% on an annual basis. New CRELs shrank by 45.8% month-to-month to MOP3.5 billion; of which, 62.6% was granted to residents. In terms of value, new CRELs to residents and non-residents dropped by 50.2% and 36.5% respectively. On an annual basis, new approvals of CRELs declined by 72.2%. Outstanding balances As at end-July 2016, the outstanding value of RMLs was MOP177.2 billion, an increase of 0.4% from one month earlier or 6.1% from a year ago. The resident component made up 93.6% of the total. Compared to end-June 2016, outstanding RMLs to residents rose 0.4% whereas those to non-residents dropped by 0.5%. Concurrently, the outstanding value of CRELs rose by 0.3% month-to-month or 15.0% year-on-year to MOP169.6 billion. Residents accounted for 87.5% of the loans. Compared with a month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents and non-residents increased by 0.1% and 1.5% respectively. Delinquency ratios At the end of July 2016, the delinquency ratio for RMLs was 0.12%, up 0.03 percentage points from a month ago or 0.06 percentage points from a year earlier. The ratio for CRELs was 0.03%, up 0.01 percentage point from a month ago but down 0.02 percentage points from end-July 2015.
