According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) decreased slightly from the previous month whereas those of commercial real estate loans (CRELs) rose in October 2017.  With regard to the outstanding balance, RMLs and CRELs both witnessed monthly increases.

New lending approved

In October 2017, new RMLs approved by Macao banks decreased slightly by 0.2% month-to-month to MOP2.8 billion.  Of which, new RMLs to residents, accounting for 97.0% of the total, decreased by 1.2% to MOP2.7 billion.  In contrast, the non-resident component rose by 45.0% to MOP84.4 million.  When compared with the same period of 2016, new approvals of RMLs fell by 2.2%.

New RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) increased by 29.6% from the preceding month to MOP187.9 million.  On an annual basis, new equitable mortgage approved fell by 30.3%.

New CRELs rose by 3.4% month-to-month to MOP4.6 billion; of which, new CRELs to residents, accounting for 97.3% of the total, increased by 0.7% to MOP4.4 billion.  On an annual basis, new approvals of CRELs decreased by 26.5%.

Outstanding balances

As at end-October 2017, the outstanding value of RMLs was MOP188.6 billion, up 0.2% from a month earlier or 5.6% from a year ago. The resident component made up 93.5% of the total.  When compared with the previous month, outstanding RMLs to residents increased slightly by 0.2% while those to non-residents stayed virtually unchanged.

The outstanding value of CRELs was MOP176.1 billion, up 1.5% month-to-month or 2.7% year-on-year.  Residents accounted for 89.8% of the loans.  Compared with a month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents increased by 1.7% whereas those to non-residents decreased by 0.4%.

Delinquency ratios

At the end of October 2017, the delinquency ratio for RMLs was 0.18%, virtually unchanged from a month ago but up 0.03 percentage points over a year earlier.  The ratio for CRELs was 0.16%, up 0.01 percentage point from the preceding month or 0.07 percentage points from end-October 2016.