New yuan lending in Shanghai more than doubled in the first half compared with the year-ago period, the Shanghai headquarters of China's central bank said on July 13.

New yuan-backed credit topped 371.6 billion yuan (US$54.4 billion) in the first half, or 2.3 times the value posted a year earlier, said the Shanghai headquarters of the People's Bank of China yesterday in a statement.

The new credit in the first half of the year was also 97.1 billion more than the entire value of last year, the PBC said.

In June alone, new yuan loans topped 99.9 billion yuan, up 81.8 billion yuan on an annual comparison, and a record high.

Meanwhile, banks offered more long-term credit in the first half with rising infrastructure lending and syndicated loans.

Individual mortgage loans soared in the first half, especially since the second quarter amid the recovering real estate market.

In the first half, individual mortgages rose 26.2 billion yuan at domestic banks, up 20.3 billion yuan from a year ago.

In June alone, individual mortgages rose 12.7 billion yuan and set a record monthly high. The figure was up 10 billion yuan from a year earlier.

New yuan savings also surged in the first half to 570.8 billion yuan, up 289.3 billion yuan from a year earlier, the statement said. It was more than any previous annual figure.

More companies put money back to bank accounts amid economic uncertainties while the growth of household savings started to slow since the second quarter along with an improving stock market and the resumption of initial public offerings.

(Shanghai Daily July 14, 2009)