Speakers:
Ruan Jianhong, spokesperson of the People's Bank of China (PBC) and director general of the Statistics and Analysis Department at the PBC
Zou Lan, director general of the Monetary Policy Department at the PBC
Sun Tianqi, director general of the Financial Stability Bureau at the PBC
Chairperson:
Xing Huina, deputy director general of the Press Bureau of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) and SCIO spokesperson
Date:
July 13, 2022
Xing Huina:
Friends from the media, good afternoon. Welcome to this press conference held by the SCIO. Today, we will introduce China's financial statistics from the first half of 2022 and answer your questions. Joining us are Ms. Ruan Jianhong, spokesperson of the PBC and director general of the Statistics and Analysis Department at the PBC; Mr. Zou Lan, director general of the Monetary Policy Department at the PBC; and Mr. Sun Tianqi, director general of the Financial Stability Bureau at the PBC.
Now, I'll give the floor to Ms. Ruan for her introduction.
Ruan Jianhong:
Friends from the media, good afternoon. Since the beginning of this year, the PBC has conscientiously implemented the plans of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council, strengthened the prudent monetary policy, used monetary policy tools to adjust both the monetary aggregate and structure, risen to the challenges, and worked to serve the real economy and maintain stable macroeconomic performance. Financial statistics show that the first half of this year has witnessed reasonably adequate liquidity, stronger financial support for the real economy, improved credit structure, and a steady decrease in the overall financing costs of businesses. The financial sector has offered higher quality services for the real economy more efficiently.
First, liquidity has remained reasonably adequate and the financial sector has offered stronger support for the real economy. In the first half of the year, the PBC reduced its required reserve ratios by 0.25 percentage point and contributed surplus profits of 900 billion yuan to reasonably increase liquidity supply and enable financial institutions to offer stronger credit support for the real economy. At the end of June, broad money supply (M2) increased by 11.4% year on year, up 2.8 percentage points from a year earlier. In the first half of the year, the aggregate financing to the real economy (AFRE) (flow) was 21 trillion yuan accumulatively, up 3.2 trillion yuan from the same period in 2021; new RMB loans reached 13.68 trillion yuan, increasing by 919.2 billion yuan year on year.
Second, the credit structure has been continuously improved. The PBC has given full play to the guiding roles of structural monetary policy, introduced multiple structural monetary policy tools, supported inclusive loans to micro and small businesses, helped stabilize employment within micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and strengthened support for key fields and weak links in the national economy. At the end of June, medium- and long-term loans for manufacturing increased by 29.7% year on year, 18.5 percentage points faster than the growth of loans overall; inclusive loans to micro and small businesses increased by 23.8% year on year, 12.6 percentage points faster than the growth of loans overall; and 52.39 million micro and small businesses received inclusive loans, up 36.8% year on year.
Third, the overall financing costs of businesses dropped steadily. In the first half of the year, the PBC improved the central bank's policy interest rate system, enhanced regulation of deposit rates, and worked to keep the costs of bank liabilities stable. In June, the interest rate on new term deposits was 2.5%, 16 basis points lower than the same period of the previous year. The PBC leveraged the potential of the reform of the loan prime rate (LPR) mechanism, lowering the one-year and five-year LPR by 10 and 20 basis points respectively to reduce the overall financing costs of businesses. In June, the interest rate on new business loans was 4.16%, 34 basis points lower than a year earlier.
Going forward, the PBC will conscientiously implement the CPC Central Committee's instructions to "continue effective COVID-19 control, achieve steady economic performance, and ensure development security," stay committed to the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, flexibly employ multiple monetary policy tools as needed, use monetary policy tools to adjust both the monetary aggregate and structure, and strengthen support for the real economy to keep major economic indicators within an appropriate range, drive high-quality economic development, and pave the way for a successful 20th National Party Congress. Thank you.
Xing Huina:
Thank you, Ms. Ruan. Next, I would like to invite Mr. Zou to give his introduction.
