Non-residential loans push up real mortgages

By
Oscar Guijarro

Information showed that residential mortgage loans (RMLs) approved by banks in the territory increased by 19.1 per cent month-to-month to MOP5.8 billion in July. The increase was attributed to enterprise loans with residential properties as collaterals, as loans to residents accounted for 66.2 per cent of the total, decreasing 19.4 per cent to MOP3.8 billion.
When compared with the same period of 2016, new approvals of RMLs increased by 65 per cent, the Authority indicated.
The institution also said that new RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) dropped by 77.2 per cent from a higher comparison base in the previous month to MOP166.5 million. On an annual basis, new equitable mortgage approved also fell by 28.8 per cent.
Regarding commercial real estate loans (CRELs), they rose by 79.5 per cent month-to-month to MOP10.9 billion; of which, new CRELs to residents, accounting for 99.7 per cent of the total, soared by 82.4 per cent to MOP10.9 billion, mainly driven by new loans granted to enterprises for large-scale tourism project development. In contrast, new CRELs to non-residents fell by 70.8 per cent from the previous month to MOP33.9 million, the Authority continues, adding that on an annual basis, new approvals of CRELs increased by 210.9 per cent.
The official data also points out that at end-July 2017, the outstanding value of RMLs was MOP187.9 billion, up by 1.1 per cent from a month earlier or 6.0 per cent from a year ago. The resident component made up 93.5 per cent of the total.
When compared with the previous month, outstanding RMLs to residents and non-residents rose by 0.8 per cent and 6.2 per cent respectively, AMCM says.
The outstanding value of CRELs was MOP172.3 billion, down 0.2 per cent month-to-month but up 1.6 per cent year-on-year. Residents accounted for 89.4 per cent of the loans. Compared with a month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents remained largely unchanged whereas those to non-residents decreased by 1.8 per cent, the AMCM information states.