Mortgage commercial loan approvals fall

New residential mortgage loan approvals fell 26.3% in May while commercial real estate loans rose 133.2% according to statistics released Wednesday by Macau’s Monetary Authority. Outstanding balances for both residential and commercial loans declined from the previous month. Residential mortgage loan balances fell 0.3% to MOP28.2 billion while commercial balances dropped 0.2% to MOP19.5 billion. Delinquency ratios also increased, with residential loans rising to 3.7% from 3.6% in April and commercial loans up to 4.7% from 3.4%. The changes come amid repayment of large residential loans and economic challenges in the special administrative region.