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 from a month earlier in April 2017.  With regard to the outstanding balance, RMLs posted a slight monthly increase whereas CRELs remained virtually unchanged.

New lending approved

In April 2017, new RMLs approved by Macao banks decreased by 18.8% month-to-month to MOP3.4 billion.  Of which, new RMLs to residents, accounting for 97.3% of the total, fell 18.9% to MOP3.3 billion.  The non-resident component also decreased by 11.8% to MOP89.5 million.  When compared with the same period of 2016, new approvals of RMLs increased by 19.0%.

New RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) increased by 13.1% to MOP376.7 million.  The equitable mortgage extended to residents, which accounted for 96.0% of the total, increased by 8.5% from the previous month. On an annual basis, new equitable mortgage approved rose by 6.6%.

New CRELs fell by 26.6% month-to-month to MOP4.0 billion; of which, new CRELs to residents, accounting for 98.7% of the total, decreased by 18.5%.  Those to non-residents shrank by 91.7% from a higher comparison base in the previous month to MOP49.8 million. On an annual basis, new approvals of CRELs grew by 76.7%.

Outstanding balances

As at end-April 2017, the outstanding value of RMLs was MOP183.3 billion, up slightly by 0.3% from the previous month or 4.8% from a year ago. The resident component made up 94.1% of the total.  When compared with the previous month, outstanding RMLs to residents increased by 0.5% whereas those to non-residents decreased by 1.8%.

The outstanding value of CRELs was MOP169.5 billion, virtually unchanged from a month ago but up 1.7% year-on-year.  Residents accounted for 89.8% of the loans.  Compared with a month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents edged up by 0.1% whereas those to non-residents fell by 1.0%.

Delinquency ratios

At the end of April 2017, the delinquency ratio for RMLs was 0.17%, down 0.01 percentage point from a month ago but up 0.06 percentage points from a year earlier.  The ratio for CRELs was 0.13%, virtually unchanged from the preceding month but up 0.11 percentage points from end-April 2016.