That’s a bummer and it underscores that credit appetite remains lacking in China as lawmakers and policymakers struggle to bolster domestic demand conditions for the most part. After posting its first annual decline in new lending in 13 years in 2024, China is now seeing back-to-back drop in new bank lending after another fall in 2025.
In 2024, new yuan loans amounted to a total ¥18.09 trillion. Meanwhile, that figure drops to ¥16.27 trillion in 2025. Ouch.
For some context, the drop above comes after new yuan loans hit a record high of approximately ¥22.8 trillion in 2023 – which marked an increase from the ¥21.31 trillion back in 2022.
There are a myriad of factors driving the trend above with the property market slump of course being the main culprit, impacting consumer confidence and spending. Meanwhile, overcapacity concerns are also an issue now and not to mention the lack of effective stimulus from Beijing in general i.e. not being targeted enough.
