According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) and commercial real estate loans (CRELs) both decreased in December 2017. With regard to the outstanding balance, RMLs and CRELs both witnessed slight monthly increases.

New lending approved

In December 2017, new RMLs approved by Macao banks fell by 22.3% month-to-month to MOP3.2 billion.  Of which, new RMLs to residents, accounting for 97.3% of the total, decreased by 23.7% to MOP3.1 billion.  In contrast, the non-resident component soared by 145.2% from a lower comparison base in the previous month to MOP85.2 million.  When compared with the same period of 2016, new approvals of RMLs fell by 24.0%. 

New RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) decreased by 1.2% from the preceding month to MOP324.5 million.  The equitable mortgage extended to residents, which accounted for 95.7% of the total, declined by 5.5% from the previous month.  On an annual basis, new equitable mortgage approved grew by 4.6%.

New CRELs decreased by 15.8% month-to-month to MOP5.5 billion; of which, new CRELs to residents, accounting for 97.4% of the total, fell by 15.4% to MOP5.4 billion.  Those to non-residents also dropped by 28.7% to MOP144.2 million.  On an annual basis, new approvals of CRELs increased by 20.3%.

Outstanding balances

As at end-December 2017, the outstanding value of RMLs was MOP189.5 billion, up 0.2% from a month earlier or 4.2% 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 0.1%, while those to non-residents also grew by 1.5%.

The outstanding value of CRELs was MOP178.7 billion, up slightly by 0.1% month-to-month or 5.4% year-on-year.  Residents accounted for 90.4% of the loans.  Compared with a month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents edged up 0.1% whereas those to non-residents decreased by 0.3%.

Delinquency ratios

At the end of December 2017, the delinquency ratio for RMLs was 0.19%, virtually unchanged from the preceding month but up 0.02 percentage points from a year earlier.  The ratio for CRELs was 0.15%, unchanged from a month ago but up 0.02 percentage points from end-December 2016.