According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) increased while those of commercial real estate loans (CRELs) witnessed a decline in November 2020.  With regard to the outstanding balances, RMLs and CRELs both increased from the previous month.

New lending approved

In November 2020, new RMLs approved by Macao banks increased by 6.7% month-to-month to MOP2.92 billion.  Of which, new RMLs to residents, accounting for 99.1% of the total, rose by 7.2% to MOP2.89 billion. On the other hand, the non-resident component decreased by 28.1% to MOP25.1 million. The monthly average of new RMLs approved between September and November 2020 was MOP4.2 billion, down by 13.8% from the previous period (August to October 2020). 

New RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) fell by 10.0% month-to-month to MOP314.6 million. On an annual basis, new equitable mortgage approved dropped by 8.3%.

New CRELs fell by 39.3% month-to-month to MOP1.85 billion. Within this total, new CRELs to residents, which occupied 99.1% of the total, decreased by 39.2% to MOP1.83 billion; new CRELs to non-residents also dropped by 52.0% to MOP17.2 million. The monthly average of new CRELs approved between September and November 2020 was MOP3.7 billion, down by 17.8% as compared with the previous period (August to October 2020). 

Outstanding balances

As at end-November 2020, the outstanding value of RMLs was MOP234.9 billion, which rose by 0.1% month-to-month or 1.8% from a year ago. Of which, the resident component made up 94.3% of the loans. When compared with the previous month, outstanding RMLs to residents stayed virtually unchanged whereas those to non-residents rose by 1.5%.

The outstanding value of CRELs was MOP173.5 billion, which grew by 0.3% from the previous month but dropped by 4.5% from a year earlier. Residents accounted for 93.4% of the loans. Compared with a month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents increased by 0.4% whereas those to non-residents fell by 0.9%.

Delinquency ratios

At the end of November 2020, the delinquency ratio for RMLs stood at 0.26%, down by 0.01 percentage point from the preceding month but up by 0.03 percentage points over a year earlier. The ratio for CRELs was 0.49%, up by 0.07 percentage points from a month ago or 0.11 percentage points from end-November 2019.