According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) decreased whereas those of commercial real estate loans (CRELs) increased in June 2016. With regard to the outstanding balance, RMLs and CRELs both witnessed increases. New lending approved In June 2016, new RMLs approved by Macao banks decreased by 12.8% month-to-month to MOP4.7 billion. Of which, new RMLs to residents, accounting for 77.4% of the total, fell by 31.1%. In contrast, the non-resident component surged by 830.3%, which was mainly attributed to larger loan amounts recorded for a few number of approvals to enterprises. When compared with the same period of 2015, new approvals of RMLs rose by 19.7%. New RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) shrank 88.2% from the preceding month to MOP244.4 million. The equitable mortgage extended to residents, which accounted for 86.7% of the total, dropped by 89.7% from a higher comparison base in the previous month. When compared with the same period of 2015, new equitable mortgage approved went down by 13.4%. New CRELs surged by 126.5% month-to-month to MOP6.5 billion; of which, 68.1% was granted to residents. In terms of value, new CRELs to residents increased by 67.3% while those to non-residents soared by 829.7%, mainly driven by new loans granted to enterprises collateralised by land. On an annual basis, new approvals of CRELs rose by 3.9%. Outstanding balances As at end-June 2016, the outstanding value of RMLs was MOP176.6 billion, an increase of 0.7% from one month earlier or 6.7% from a year ago. The resident component made up 93.6% of the total. Compared to end-May 2016, outstanding RMLs to residents and non-residents rose 0.7% and 0.5% respectively. Concurrently, the outstanding value of CRELs rose by 1.8% month-to-month or 20.1% year-on-year to MOP169.1 billion. Residents accounted for 87.6% of the loans. Compared with a month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents and non-residents increased by 1.3% and 6.0% respectively. Delinquency ratios At the end of June 2016, the delinquency ratio for RMLs was 0.10%, down 0.01 percentage point from a month ago or up 0.03 percentage points from a year ago. The ratio for CRELs was 0.02%, up 0.01 percentage point from a month ago or down 0.05 percentage points from end-June 2015.