New bank lending predicted to hit $127b

New bank lending in August is estimated to be 780 billion yuan ($127 billion) against previous forecasts of 700 billion yuan, according to Beijing-based Economic Information Daily.

The "Big Four" State-owned commercial banks, Industrial and Commerce Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank Corp, and Bank of China, extended over 250 billion yuan in new loans last month.

These State-backed banks normally account for about 32 percent of the new lending, putting the estimated scale of new credit at 780 billion yuan in August.

Off-balance-sheet financing, including shadow banking, has been receding since July. Its proportion in social financing has fallen from 45 percent in the first quarter, to 33 percent in the second and to 21 percent in July.

The regulator has taken a reforming approach to shadow banks instead of clamping down on these unconventional creditors, such as asset securitization, said Fu Bingtao, analyst with Agricultural Bank of China.

As a result, liquidity in the banking sector will be kept at a stable level in the foreseeable future, Fu added.