According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) increased while those of commercial real estate loans (CRELs) witnessed a decline in July 2020. With regard to the outstanding balance, RMLs and CRELs both decreased from the previous month.

New lending approved

In July 2020, new RMLs approved by Macao banks rose by 79.8% month-to-month to MOP8.33 billion. Of which, new RMLs to residents, representing 71.9% of the total, grew by 88.5% to MOP5.99 billion; the non-resident component also increased by 60.7% to MOP2.34 billion. The monthly average of new RMLs approved between May and July 2020 was MOP5.2 billion, up by 67.4% from the previous period (April to June 2020). 

New RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) increased month-to-month by 224.1% to MOP886.0 million. On an annual basis, new equitable mortgage approved rose by 189.0%.

New CRELs fell by 28.6% month-to-month to MOP1.73 billion. Within this total, new CRELs to residents, which occupied 81.9% of the total, decreased by 40.3% to MOP1.41 billion whereas those to non-residents rose to MOP313.1 million. The monthly average of new CRELs approved between May and July 2020 was MOP2.0 billion, down by 10.0% as compared with the previous period (April to June 2020). 

Outstanding balances

As at end-July 2020, the outstanding value of RMLs was MOP232.1 billion, which edged down by 0.1% from the previous month but increased by 2.9% from a year ago. Of which, the resident component made up 94.4% of the total. When compared with the previous month, outstanding RMLs to residents rose by 0.4% whereas those to non-residents dropped by 6.9%.

The outstanding value of CRELs decreased by 1.1% month-to-month or 3.3% from a year earlier to MOP177.6 billion, attributable to the repayment of loans with large denomination. Residents accounted for 93.4% of the loans. Compared with a month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents dropped by 1.2% whereas those to non-residents rose by 1.4%.

Delinquency ratios

At the end of July 2020, the delinquency ratio for RMLs stood at 0.26%, virtually unchanged from a month ago but up by 0.04 percentage points over a year earlier. The ratio for CRELs remained at 0.44% but rose by 0.15 percentage points from end-July 2019.