BIS: CBRC Liu - Loan Growth More Stable In 2nd Half

BIS: CBRC Liu - Loan Growth More Stable In 2nd Half

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- The head of China's banking regulator said Sunday that growth of new yuan loans should stabilize in the second half, and that generally he sees no problem with lending conditions.

Speaking on the sidelines of meetings of central bank officials in Basel, China Banking Regulatory Commission Chairman Liu Mingkang said that Chinese loan growth was "still quite good," despite recent declines.

New yuan loans fell sharply to CNY355.9 billion in July from CNY1.53 trillion in June, sending shock waves through China's equity market. There are reports that lending weakened even further in August.

Liu noted that the stock and ratio of non-performing loans had fallen in the first half of 2009, as lending had increased.

In "the second half of this year, I think that the speed [of loan growth] will be more stable and we monitor the risks envisaged very closely," Liu said. "In general, I don't think that there is any problem."