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Demand For Credit Plunges 55% In China As Slump Deepens

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Last week, in "Bad Debt Soars 35% In China As Government Set To Fabricate Dismal Loan Data," we noted that Beijing, in a desperate bid to claim that demand for credit hasn’t fallen off a cliff, is set to include loans made as part of the PBoC’s plunge protection effort in its monthly new loans data.

"The central bank will begin including interbank loans to non-banking institutions in its calculations, a practice which could mean the headline figure will be 'three times' what it would have been were it calculated using the old methodology," we said, citing MNI. "The PBoC," we continued, "will include loans made to CSF, China’s plunge protection vehicle, in the figures, meaning Beijing will pretend that the state-directed effort to artificially shore up the country’s stock market represents real, organic demand for credit."

This, of course, is completely absurd but that didn’t stop Beijing from doing it anyway and as transparent as it was, it was still good enough for a headline beat of epic proportions and drove M2 growth of 13.3%. Here’s the amusing spin from Xinhua

China's new yuan-denominated lending rose sharply in July, new data showed, thanks to the central bank's easing measures such as interest rate cuts and the government's continuing pro-growth measures.

 

New yuan loans hit 1.48 trillion yuan (241.8 billion U.S. dollars) during the last month, up 1.61 trillion yuan from a year earlier, according to data released by the People's Bank of China (PBOC) on Tuesday.

 

M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, increased 13.3 percent year on year to 135.32 trillion yuan at the end of July, the central bank.

 

The PBOC spokesperson attributed the increases mainly to cuts in benchmark interest rates and bank's reserve requirement ratio and government's supportive policies to stimulate the real economy and prop up economic growth.

In reality, the "beat" had nothing (or very little) to do with policy rate cuts and everything to do with loans made to stem the stock market rout. Here's Barclays: 

New loans and M2 growth in July surprised to the upside, dominated by one-off measures to stabilise the stock market. RMB new loans totalled CNY1480bn in July, almost double expectations (consensus: CNY750bn, Barclays: CNY790bn). However, more than half of the new loans (CNY886bn from CNY-47bn in June) were extended to non-banking financial institutions, while household loans and non financial institutions loans both shrank to CNY275bn and CNY313bn, respectively (June: CNY458bn, and CNY860bn). This reflects the government’s stock market support measures in the past month, with bank lending to securities corporations soaring. As a result, broad money (M2) growth jumped to 13.3% y/y from 11.8% previously, while base money (M0) growth remained flat at 2.9% y/y. At the same time, the CNY loan balance growth was up notably at 15.5% y/y, from 13.4% in June.

 


Overall, the strengthening of loan growth reflects China’s efforts to halt the stock market rout, hence, it could be short-lived, in our view. Loans to the real economy remain weak, suggesting modest domestic demand, which is consistent with our baseline growth forecast. We believe stabilising growth and channeling low-cost financing to the real economy will remain top priorities for monetary policy in H2 2015. That said, we maintain our view of one more benchmark rate cut of 25bp in Q3, accompanied by a removal of the deposit rate ceiling, and look for one or two 50bp RRR cuts in H2 2015, depending on liquidity conditions.

 

 

As you can see, loans to the real economy tumbled some 55% M/M to their lowest level since October and not only was the CNY886 billion in loans to non-banking financial institutions anomalous, it was flat out unprecedented. Put simply, it's an outlier that has no place being included in the data. 

In fact, a closer look at the above reveals the truly dismal state of credit demand in China. Loans to households plunged 40% M/M, while credit extended to non-financial corporates dove 63%.

So no, the string of policy rate cuts Beijing has embarked on since last November have not stimulated demand for credit and indeed this is underscored by commentary from Chinese bankers themselves, one of which told MNI that banks simply "can't find the demand." Of course as we noted last week, we suppose that's ok as long as Chinese stocks continue to have stretches where they simply "can't find a bid", because when that happens, the PBoC can apparently create blockbuster credit growth out of thin air.

 

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Tue, 08/11/2015 - 12:41 | 6414246 Dr. Engali
Dr. Engali's picture

Pinch me, I feel like I've seen this movie before, maybe it's just a glitch in the matrix.

Tue, 08/11/2015 - 13:11 | 6414430 Trevor Philips ...
Trevor Philips CEO of Trevor Philips Industries's picture

soooo sawwwwryyyy

Tue, 08/11/2015 - 13:22 | 6414497 KnuckleDragger-X
KnuckleDragger-X's picture

It's just the Red Queen telling everybody to run faster so they can stay in place.....

Tue, 08/11/2015 - 13:48 | 6414618 sun tzu
sun tzu's picture

PBOC is pushing on a string. They will have to pay people to borrow money to invest 

Tue, 08/11/2015 - 12:43 | 6414250 booboo
booboo's picture

If they could just monitize carbon particulates like we are in the U.S. they could be great again.

Tue, 08/11/2015 - 12:49 | 6414296 Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill's picture

Pollution backed securities, you have a bright future on Crime street,

Were you in Colorado over the weekend ?

Tue, 08/11/2015 - 13:06 | 6414399 MSimon
MSimon's picture

Sand is cheaper.

Tue, 08/11/2015 - 12:47 | 6414281 JLO
JLO's picture

another 25 million illegals will solve the problem.

Tue, 08/11/2015 - 12:49 | 6414297 besnook
besnook's picture

not to mention no margin borrowing.

Tue, 08/11/2015 - 12:59 | 6414348 clade7
clade7's picture

"Demand for Credit" line has to make a guy laugh!  Is is a pseudonym, or a homynm?

Go down to your local bank and "Demand Credit" when you are broke...no matter what happens, at least you leave with a sucker..

Tue, 08/11/2015 - 13:01 | 6414352 thunderchief
thunderchief's picture

It  is time to buy gold China, and call the west's bluff.

It is that or be the Western Emperors ballless eunic. 

Tue, 08/11/2015 - 13:02 | 6414369 Bunga Bunga
Bunga Bunga's picture

The "Communist" Ponzi is collapsing. What would Mao say?

Tue, 08/11/2015 - 13:11 | 6414433 williambanzai7
williambanzai7's picture

High end commercial retail rents are tanking in Hong Kong.

Tue, 08/11/2015 - 13:18 | 6414465 1033eruth
1033eruth's picture

Ha, well China call always charge people interest for loans whether they take them or not.  That will help bring forward more GDP and consumption.  Why not, they are holding a gun to stock holders heads.  Stay in or ELSE!!  Ponzi must grow.  Central Banks = consortium of Ponzi bubble blowers.  The Bubble must grow! 

Tue, 08/11/2015 - 15:17 | 6415142 Rock and Hard Space
Rock and Hard Space's picture

How is this different from what our CB/treasury have been doing for 15 years?

Oh, that's right, 'murka, freak yeah!

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