MACAU, February 10 - According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) and commercial real estate loans (CRELs) both decreased in December 2021. With regard to the outstanding balances, both RMLs and CRELs witnessed increases.

New lending approved

In December 2021, new RMLs approved by Macao banks fell by 22.5% month-to-month to MOP2.49 billion. Of which, new RMLs to residents, representing 98.5% of the total, dropped by 20.7% to MOP2.46 billion; the non-resident component decreased by 69.0% to MOP37.5 million. The monthly average of new RMLs approved between October and December 2021 was MOP2.7 billion, a decrease of 10.4% from the previous period (September to November 2021). 

New RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) rose by 46.5% month-to-month to MOP398.2 million. On an annual basis, new equitable mortgage approved dropped by 19.3%.

New CRELs fell by 13.6% month-to-month to MOP10.98 billion. Within this total, new CRELs to residents, which occupied 99.7% of the total, decreased by 13.8% to MOP10.94 billion whereas those to non-residents increased by 96.1% to MOP36.5 million. The monthly average of new CRELs approved between October and December 2021 was MOP8.5 billion, up by 44.4% as compared with the previous period (September to November 2021). 

Outstanding balances

As at end-December 2021, the outstanding value of RMLs was MOP239.6 billion, which grew by 0.2% month-to-month or 2.0% from a year ago. Of which, the resident component made up 94.7% of the loans. When compared with the previous month, outstanding RMLs to residents fell by 0.1% whereas those to non-residents grew by 6.3%.

The outstanding value of CRELs was MOP162.1 billion, which advanced by 1.6% from the previous month but dropped by 3.8% from a year earlier. Residents accounted for 93.4% of the loans. Compared with a month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents increased by 1.7% whereas those to non-residents stayed virtually unchanged.

Delinquency ratios

At the end of December 2021, the delinquency ratio for RMLs remained virtually unchanged from the previous month at 0.28%, but went up by 0.03 percentage points over a year earlier. The ratio for CRELs stood at 0.58%, a drop of 0.02 percentage points from a month ago but a rise of 0.08 percentage points from end-December 2020.