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 from a month earlier in February 2018.  With regard to the outstanding balance, RMLs remained virtually unchanged whereas CRELs witnessed a slight monthly increase.

New lending approved

In February 2018, new RMLs approved by Macao banks dropped by 28.4% month-to-month to MOP2.6 billion.  Of which, new RMLs to residents, accounting for 98.3% of the total, decreased by 27.8% to MOP2.6 billion. The non-resident component also declined by 51.5% to MOP43.6 million.  The monthly average of new RMLs approved between December 2017 and February 2018 was MOP3.1 billion, down by 13.5% from the previous period (November 2017 to January 2018). 

New RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) decreased by 17.0% from the preceding month to MOP269.8 million. On an annual basis, new equitable mortgage approved rose by 55.2%.

New CRELs dropped by 47.7% month-to-month to MOP6.8 billion; of which, new CRELs to residents, accounting for 98.8% of the total, declined by 17.4% to MOP6.7 billion while those to non-residents contracted to MOP80.4 million.  The monthly average of new CRELs approved between December 2017 and February 2018 was MOP8.4 billion, slightly up by 0.9% when compared with the previous period (November 2017 to January 2018). 

Outstanding balances

As at end-February 2018, the outstanding value of RMLs was MOP189.7 billion, basically unchanged from a month earlier and up 4.0% from a year ago. The resident component made up 93.6% of the total.  When compared with the previous month, outstanding RMLs to residents remained virtually unchanged while those to non-residents edged down by 0.3%.

The outstanding value of CRELs was MOP187.7 billion, up by 2.4% month-to-month or 10.2% year-on-year.  Residents accounted for 89.1% of the loans.  Compared with a month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents and non-residents increased by 2.4% and 2.0% respectively.

Delinquency ratios

At the end of February 2018, the delinquency ratio for RMLs was 0.22%, up 0.02 percentage points from a month ago or 0.03 percentage points over a year earlier.  The ratio for CRELs was 0.14%, virtually unchanged from the preceding month but up 0.01 percentage point from end-February 2017.