Financial summary of first quarter

The central bank maintained its relatively loose monetary policy during the first quarter, in a bid to spur China's economic recovery. Now let's take a look at data released earlier by the People's Bank of China.

Money supply surges 22.50%

Broad measure money supply amounted to 65 trillion yuan at the end of last month, up 22 percent over the same period of last year. Narrow measure money supply reached about 23 trillion yuan in March, increasing by about 30 percent year-on-year. The growth rate slowed compared to the end of February and the end of last year.

Loans up 2.8 trillion yuan

In the first quarter of this year, loans from financial institutions increased by 2.8 trillion yuan, with 2.6 trillion in Renminbi. The loan balance exceeded 45 trillion yuan by the end of March, increasing nearly a quarter over the same period last year. The balance of loans in Renminbi in various forms for the end of March accounted for about 43 trillion yuan, growing by more than a fifth over the same period last year. The growth rate slowed compared to the end of February and the end of last year.

Deposits up 4.07 trillion yuan

In the first quarter of this year, new deposits increased by about 4.07 trillion yuan, with the overwhelming majority in Renminbi. By the end of March, total savings in financial institutions amounted to more than 65 trillion yuan, up more than a fifth year-on-year. Total deposits in Chinese currency mirrored this growth rate with about 64 trillion yuan. Overall, growth was also down compared with the end of February and the end of last year.

Foreign exchange reserves up 25.25%

By the end of March, the balance of foreign exchange reserves hit almost 2.5 trillion US dollars, growing by 25 percent over the same period of last year. In the first quarter, foreign exchange reserves increased by 40 billion US dollars.