New approvals of commercial real estate loans by local banks declined by 45.8 per cent month-on-month in July, in addition to there being a decrease in the approval of residential mortgages, according to the latest official data released yesterday by the Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM).
During the month, new commercial real estate loans (CREL) shrank to MOP3.5 billion (US$439.2 million), down from MOP6.5 billion one month ago. Of the total, 62.6 per cent, or MOP2.2 billion, were granted to residents, a drop of 50.2 per cent from MOP4.4 billion in June. In addition, new approvals to non-residents also plunged by 36.5 per cent month-on-month to MOP1.3 billion.
On a year-on-year comparison, the local banking sector’s new green-lighting of commercial mortgage loans dived by 72.2 per cent, the data indicated.
Meanwhile, new approvals for residential mortgages by local banks decreased to MOP3.5 billion, down from MOP4.7 billion one month ago. The amount also represents a decline of 16.5 per cent compared to the same month last year.
Of the total, mortgages made to residents fell by 5.7 per cent month-on-month to MOP3.4 billion, accounting for 98.2 per cent of the total. In addition, those to non-residents plummeted by 94 per cent month-on-month to nearly MOP64 million.
AMCM explained that the significant drop in new approvals to non-residents was due to a higher comparison base the previous month – when local banks approved a total of MOP1.06 billion of residential mortgage loans to non-residents.
New approvals of equitable mortgages – those collateralised by uncompleted units – also registered a month-on-month drop of 4.3 per cent to MOP234 million. Compared to one year ago, the amount fell by 71 per cent due to a higher comparison base again, according to the authority.
Of the total newly approved equitable mortgage loans, 94.8 per cent, or MOP221.7 million, were granted to residents, up by 4.6 per cent month-on-month, yet those to non-residents dropped significantly by 62.2 per cent down to MOP12.3 million in July.
Outstanding values up
As at the end of the month, the outstanding values of residential and commercial mortgage loans both recorded month-on-month increases, up by 0.4 per cent and 0.3 per cent to MOP177.2 billion and MOP169.6 billion, respectively. The resident component made up 93.6 per cent of the total outstanding value of residential mortgages, as well as 87.5 per cent of that of commercial real estate loans.
On the other hand, the delinquency ratio for residential mortgage loans was 0.12 per cent as at the end of the month, up 0.03 percentage points from a month ago or 0.06 percentage points from a year earlier. Meanwhile, the ratio for CRELs was 0.03 per cent, which grew by 0.01 percentage point month-on-month, yet fell by 0.02 percentage points year-on-year.
