According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) rose while those of commercial real estate loans (CRELs) decreased in March 2018. With regard to the outstanding balance, RMLs witnessed a slight monthly increase whereas CRELs remained virtually unchanged.
New lending approved
In March 2018, new RMLs approved by Macao banks rose notably by 133.9% month-to-month to MOP6.1 billion, mainly attributed to the approval of enterprise loans with residential properties as collaterals. Of which, new RMLs to residents, accounting for 75.2% of the total, increased by 78.8% to MOP4.6 billion while the non-resident component increased to MOP1.5 billion. The monthly average of new RMLs approved between January and March 2018 was MOP4.1 billion, up by 31.1% from the previous period (December 2017 to February 2018).
New RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) surged by 101.4% from the preceding month to MOP543.4 million. On an annual basis, new equitable mortgage approved rose by 63.1%.
New CRELs dropped by 14.7% month-to-month to MOP5.8 billion. The monthly average of new CRELs approved between January and March 2018 was MOP8.5 billion, up slightly by 1.1% when compared with the previous period (December 2017 to February 2018).
Outstanding balances
As at end-March 2018, the outstanding value of RMLs was MOP190.5 billion, up by 0.4% from a month earlier or 4.3% from a year ago. The resident component made up 93.4% of the total. When compared with the previous month, outstanding RMLs to residents and non-residents rose by 0.2% and 3.6% respectively.
The outstanding value of CRELs was MOP187.7 billion, which remained virtually unchanged month-to-month and rose 10.7% year-on-year. Residents accounted for 89.2% of the loans. Compared with a month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents edged up 0.1% while those to non-residents decreased by 0.7%.
Delinquency ratios
At the end of March 2018, the delinquency ratio for RMLs was 0.20%, down 0.01 percentage point from a month ago but up 0.02 percentage points over a year earlier. The ratio for CRELs was 0.14%, down 0.01 percentage point from the preceding month but up 0.01 percentage point from end-March 2017.