Approved mortgage loans drop 35%

The value of new residential mortgage loans (RMLs) approved by Macau banks dropped by 35.1% month-on-month to MOP2.01 billion in April, according to data issued by the Monetary Authority of Macao.
New RMLs to residents, which represent 99.7% of the total number, fell by 34.7% to MOP2.01 billion. Non-resident RMLs decreased to MOP5.2 million.
The monthly average of new RMLs approved between February and April 2020 was MOP2.2 billion, down 13.1% from the previous period (January to March 2020).
New RMLs collateralized by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgages) fell by 53.0% month-on-month to MOP234.1 million. Compared to last year, new equitable mortgage approvals also dropped by 61.5%.
Commercial real estate loans (CRELs) also dropped by 56.5% month-on-month to MOP2.39 billion.
New CRELs to residents, comprising 99.0% of the total, decreased by 49.0% to MOP2.37 billion, while new CRELs to non-residents fell to MOP25.0 million. The monthly average of new CRELs approved between February and April 2020 was MOP3.8 billion, down by 0.5% compared to the previous period (January to March 2020). As of end-April, the outstanding value of RMLs was MOP231.4 billion. The outstanding value of CRELs was MOP181.7 billion, which had grown by 0.3% from last month but had fallen 7.5% compared to last year. LV