CBRC: Lend according to real demand

China's bank regulator says banks need to control the pace of lending and credit quality. Loan growth in 2009 far exceeded government targets.

The China Banking Regulatory Commission said on Monday that banks must base loans on the effective demand from the real economy and control the pace of lending and quality of credit.

The Chinese government has set a target for 2010 of loans worth 7.5 trillion yuan. This is after a record 9.6 trillion yuan in loans last year. That's nearly double the official minimum goal of 5 trillion at the beginning of 2009. The commission stressed that ultimate lending decisions are made by the boards of individual banks and should be based on the bank's capital cushion.