Bank loans in China hit record high in January

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New loans in January hit 2.9 trillion yuan (458.3 billion US dollars), well above analysts’ expectations and almost five times as much as in December, China's central bank data showed Monday.

Chinese banks tend to front-load loans early in the year to get higher-quality customers and win market share.

The M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, reached 172.1 trillion yuan at the end of January, up 8.6 percent year on year, compared with an 8.2 percent increase in December.

Outstanding yuan loans grew 13.2 percent from a year earlier, faster than an expected 12.5 percent rise and compared with a rise of 12.7 percent in December.

Total Social Financing (TSF) in January surged

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China’s total social financing (TSF), a broad measure of credit and liquidity in the economy, surged to 3.06 trillion yuan (483.55 billion US dollars) in January from 1.14 trillion yuan in December.

TSF includes off-balance sheet forms of financing that exist outside the conventional bank lending system, such as initial public offerings, loans from trust companies and bond sales.

Chinese authorities have been trying to clamp down on riskier forms of lending as part of a broader campaign to contain and reduce systemic financial risks.

(With input from agencies)