Financial institutions in Shanghai attracted a record 165.16 billion yuan (US$23.23 billion) in new deposits last month, 149.26 billion yuan more than the same period last year, the Shanghai headquarters of the People's Bank of China said in a statement yesterday.

The hike was largely due to the lackluster performance of stock and property markets as well as the recent interest rate increases by the central bank, the statement said.

New loans hit 21.48 billion yuan in February, 11.14 billion yuan less than the same month a year earlier, according to the statement.

(Shanghai Daily March 11, 2008)