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 rose from a month earlier in November 2017. With regard to the outstanding balance, both RMLs and CRELs witnessed monthly increases.
New lending approved
In November 2017, new RMLs approved by Macao banks rose by 44.9% month-to-month to MOP4.1 billion. Of which, new RMLs to residents, accounting for 99.1% of the total, increased by 48.1% to MOP4.0 billion, mainly driven by the approval of enterprise loans with residential properties as collaterals. In contrast, the non-resident component dropped by 58.8% to MOP34.7 million. When compared with the same period of 2016, new approvals of RMLs fell by 9.8%.
New RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) increased by 74.7% from the preceding month to MOP328.3 million. On an annual basis, new equitable mortgage approved also grew by 27.4%.
New CRELs rose by 44.1% month-to-month to MOP6.6 billion; of which, new CRELs to residents, accounting for 96.9% of the total, increased by 43.5% to MOP6.4 billion, mainly attributed to new loans collateralised by lands. Meanwhile, new CRELs to non-residents also grew by 63.6% to MOP202.2 million. Attributable to a lower comparison base in the same period of 2016, new approvals of CRELs surged by 222.2% year-on-year.
Outstanding balances
As at end-November 2017, the outstanding value of RMLs was MOP189.2 billion, up 0.3% from a month earlier or 5.3% from a year ago. The resident component made up 93.5% of the total. When compared with the previous month, outstanding RMLs to residents increased slightly by 0.3% while those to non-residents fell by 0.5%.
The outstanding value of CRELs was MOP178.6 billion, up 1.4% month-to-month or 3.2% year-on-year. Residents accounted for 90.3% of the loans. Compared with a month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents increased by 2.0% whereas those to non-residents decreased by 4.3%.
Delinquency ratios
At the end of November 2017, the delinquency ratio for RMLs was 0.19%, up 0.01 percentage point from a month ago or 0.02 percentage points over a year earlier. The ratio for CRELs was 0.14%, down 0.02 percentage points from the preceding month but up 0.03 percentage points from end-November 2016.