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 increased in March 2020. With regard to the outstanding balances, both RMLs and CRELs witnessed increases.

New lending approved

In March 2020, new RMLs approved by Macao banks rose by 115.4% month-to-month to MOP3.11 billion. Of which, new RMLs to residents, representing 99.0% of the total, grew by 116.6% to MOP3.08 billion; the non-resident component also increased by 34.8% to MOP30.4 million. The monthly average of new RMLs approved between January and March 2020 was MOP2.5 billion, up by 1.3% from the previous period (December 2019 to February 2020). 

New RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) grew by 123.8% month-to-month to MOP497.7 million. On an annual basis, new equitable mortgage approved dropped by 36.9%.

New CRELs rose by 57.6% month-to-month to MOP5.5 billion. Within this total, new CRELs to residents, which occupied 84.3% of the total, increased by 39.1% to MOP4.6 billion; new CRELs to non-residents also rose by 455.9% from a relatively low base to MOP861.8 million. The monthly average of new CRELs approved between January and March 2020 was MOP3.8 billion, up by 36.5% as compared with the previous period (December 2019 to February 2020). 

Outstanding balances

As at end-March 2020, the outstanding value of RMLs was MOP231.4 billion, which grew by 0.2% month-to-month or 5.6% from a year ago. Of which, the resident component made up 93.9% of the loans. When compared with the previous month, outstanding RMLs to residents rose by 0.3% whereas those to non-residents dropped by 1.0%.

The outstanding value of CRELs was MOP181.2 billion, which grew by 0.4% from a month earlier but fell by 7.6% from a year ago. Residents accounted for 93.5% of the loans. Compared with a month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents increased by 0.6% whereas those to non-residents fell by 2.4%.

Delinquency ratios

At the end of March 2020, the delinquency ratio for RMLs stood at 0.25%, virtually unchanged from a month ago but up by 0.08 percentage points over a year earlier. The ratio for CRELs remained at 0.45% but up by 0.24 percentage points from end-March 2019.