According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) and commercial real estate loans (CRELs) decreased simultaneously in April 2016. With regard to the outstanding balance, RMLs remained virtually unchanged from the previous month while CRELs decreased.

New lending approved

In April 2016, new RMLs approved by Macao banks decreased by 4.7% month-to-month to MOP2.8 billion; of which, 94.1% was extended to residents. In terms of value, new RMLs to residents and non-residents fell by 4.1% and 14.2% respectively. When compared with the same period of 2015, new approvals of RMLs dropped by 35.1%.

As the number of cases and the amount of relevant loans approved by banks generally decreased in April, new RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) shrank by 50.5% from the preceding month to MOP353.4 million. The equitable mortgage extended to residents, which accounted for 78.3% of the total, fell by 52.4%. When compared with the same period of 2015, new RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units dropped by 77.7%.

New CRELs fell by 26.4% month-to-month to MOP2.2 billion; of which, 88.2% was granted to residents. In terms of value, new CRELs to residents dropped by 33.6% whereas those to non-residents increased significantly by 272.9%, mainly driven by new loans granted to enterprises collateralised by commercial properties. On an annual basis, new approvals of CRELs fell by 75.7%.

Outstanding balances

As at end-April 2016, the outstanding value of RMLs was MOP174.9 billion, virtually unchanged from the previous month but up by 7.8% from a year ago. The resident component made up 93.6% of the total. Compared to end-March 2016, outstanding RMLs to residents was stable whereas those to non-residents grew by 0.7%.

Concurrently, the outstanding value of CRELs went down by 0.4% month-to-month but up by 21.5% year-on-year to MOP166.7 billion. Residents accounted for 88.3% of the loans. Compared with a month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents and non-residents decreased by 0.1% and 2.0% respectively.

Delinquency ratios

At the end of April 2016, the delinquency ratio for RMLs reached 0.10%, up 0.01 percentage point from a month ago or 0.03 percentage points from a year ago. The ratio for CRELs was unchanged from a month ago or down 0.03 percentage points from end-April 2015, to 0.02%.