China could raise bank loans target to RMB9 trillion

Almost a trillion higher than 2012's.

According to BBVA, Caixin Magazine reported that this year’s target for new bank loans in China has been set at RMB 9trn, higher than 2012’s outturn of RMB 8.2trn (unannounced target in 2012: RMB 8-8.5 trillion).

"Those numbers have not been confirmed, and it is still too early to assess whether credit conditions in China will be tighter this year compared with last year, given that financial institutions have embraced various ‘other’ forms of credit expansion - for example, by buying corporate bonds. As highlighted by the PBoC’s statistics for total social financing (TSF), only 52% of incremental credit increase in 2012 was issued through bank loans."