The four state-owned commercial banks made new loans totaling 170 billion yuan in July according to a Bank of Communications report published August 1. The Bank of China lent around 80 billion yuan, China Construction Bank about 60 billion yuan, and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China just under 30 billion yuan. But loans from the Agricultural Bank of China may have seen negative growth.

The report says Bank of Communications' lending in July was between 500 and 600 billion yuan, which means that the four state-owned commercial banks now account for only about 30 percent of the total. By comparison, the big four accounted for 44.6 percent of new loans at the end of June and 50.5 percent at the end of the first quarter.

According to analysts, the four state-owned commercial banks' loans were directed to finance large-scale projects during the first half of 2009, and loans will be mainly targeted at local construction projects and medium and small-scale enterprises in the second half of the year. Loans by shareholding banks may grow faster than the big four's during that period.

For more information, please consult the Chinese coverage here:

http://paper.cs.com.cn/html/2009-08/04/content_22514.htm

(China.org.cn by Li Xiaohua August 4, 2009)