New residential loans surge 70pct

New approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) surged 70 percent in May 2017 compared to the previous month, according to data released this week by the Monetary Authority of Macau, while those of commercial real estate loans (CRELs) dropped during the same comparative period. With regard to the outstanding balance, RMLs increased whereas CRELs posted a slight monthly decline.

During May, new RMLs approved by Macau banks were up more than 70 percent  month-to-month to MOP5.7 billion. DSEC attributed the colossal rise to new approvals of loans to enterprises with residential properties as collateral.

Subsequently, the non-
resident component of RMLs increased to MOP1.5 billion, while the resident proportion (accounting for 74.1 percent of the total), expanded at a slower pace of about 30 percent.

When compared with the same period of 2016, new approvals of RMLs increased by 6.3 percent.

In the same period, new CRELs fell by 15.5 percent month-to-month to MOP3.3 billion, of which new CRELs to residents, accounting for 65.5 percent of the total, decreased by 44 percent.

In contrast, new CRELs to non-residents rose to MOP1.2 billion, mainly driven by new loans granted to enterprises collateralized by retail premises. On an annual basis, new approvals of CRELs grew by 16.8 percent.

As of the end of May, the outstanding value of RMLs was MOP184.5 billion, up by 0.7 percent from the previous month or 5.2 percent from a year ago. The resident component made up 93.5 percent of the total.  When compared with one month earlier, outstanding RMLs to residents and non-residents rose by 0.1 percent and 9.5 percent respectively.

Meanwhile, the outstanding value of CRELs was MOP168.9 billion, down 0.4 percent from a month ago, but up 1.7 percent year-on-year. Compared with a month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents fell by 0.8 percent whereas those to non-residents rose by 3.4 percent.