1. Outstanding aggregate financing to the real economy increased 8.2 percent year on year

According to preliminary statistics, outstanding aggregate financing to the real economy (AFRE) reached RMB451.4 trillion at end-February 2026, increasing 8.2 percent year on year. Specifically, outstanding RMB loans to the real economy posted RMB274.15 trillion, increasing 6.1 percent year on year; outstanding foreign currency-denominated loans to the real economy (RMB equivalent) recorded RMB1.08 trillion, decreasing 11 percent year on year; outstanding entrusted loans registered RMB11.28 trillion, increasing 0.3 percent year on year; outstanding trust loans registered RMB4.7 trillion, increasing 8.5 percent year on year; outstanding undiscounted bankers' acceptances recorded RMB2.6 trillion, increasing 12.9 percent year on year; outstanding corporate bonds registered RMB34.84 trillion, increasing 6.2 percent year on year; outstanding government bonds reached RMB97.3 trillion, increasing 16.6 percent year on year; and outstanding domestic equity of non-financial firms amounted to RMB12.27 trillion, increasing 4.2 percent year on year.

By structure, outstanding RMB loans to the real economy accounted for 60.7 percent of the total AFRE at end-February, decreasing 1.2 percentage points year on year; outstanding foreign currency-denominated loans to the real economy (RMB equivalent) accounted for 0.2 percent, decreasing 0.1 percentage points year on year; outstanding entrusted loans accounted for 2.5 percent, decreasing 0.2 percentage points year on year; outstanding trust loans accounted for 1 percent, flat year on year; outstanding undiscounted bankers' acceptances accounted for 0.6 percent, flat year on year; outstanding corporate bonds accounted for 7.7 percent, decreasing 0.2 percentage points year on year; outstanding government bonds accounted for 21.6 percent, increasing 1.6 percentage points year on year; and outstanding domestic equity of non-financial firms constituted 2.7 percent, decreasing 0.1 percentage points year on year.

2. AFRE (flow) increased by RMB9.6 trillion in the first two months

According to preliminary statistics, the aggregate financing to the real economy (AFRE) (flow) was RMB9.6 trillion in the first two months of 2026, up RMB316.2 billion from the same period of 2025. Specifically, RMB loans to the real economy registered an increase of RMB5.75 trillion, RMB124.8 billion less than the increase in the same period of 2025; foreign currency-denominated loans to the real economy (RMB equivalent) recorded an increase of RMB43.3 billion, RMB110.5 billion more than the increase in the same period of 2025; entrusted loans registered a decrease of RMB37.3 billion, RMB59.3 billion more than the decrease in the same period of 2025; trust loans recorded an increase of RMB30.5 billion, RMB1.2 billion more than the increase in the same period of 2025; undiscounted bankers' acceptances recorded an increase of RMB453.8 billion, RMB287.0 billion more than the increase in the same period of 2025; net financing of corporate bonds was RMB655.4 billion, up RMB39.8 billion year on year; net financing of government bonds was RMB2.38 trillion, down RMB9.4 billion year on year; domestic equity financing by non-financial enterprises was RMB74.5 billion, up RMB19.5 billion year on year.

3. Broad money rose by 9 percent

At end-February, broad money supply (M2) stood at RMB349.22 trillion, rising by 9 percent year on year. Narrow money supply (M1), at RMB115.93 trillion, grew by 5.9 percent year on year. The amount of currency in circulation (M0) was RMB15.14 trillion, an increase of 14.1 percent year on year. The first two months saw a net money injection of RMB1.05 trillion.

4. RMB deposits increased by RMB9.26 trillion in the first two months

At end-February, the outstanding amount of RMB and foreign currency deposits was RMB345.72 trillion, up 8.8 percent year on year. RMB deposits recorded an outstanding amount of RMB337.94 trillion, rising by 8.7 percent year on year.

In the first two months, RMB deposits increased by RMB9.26 trillion. Specifically, household deposits, fiscal deposits, and deposits of non-banking financial institutions rose by RMB5.24 trillion, RMB1.2 trillion, and RMB2.84 trillion, respectively. In contrast, deposits of non-financial enterprises decreased by RMB44.5 billion.

At end-February, the outstanding amount of foreign currency deposits was USD1.12 trillion, up 20.5 percent year on year. The first two months saw an increase of USD63.8 billion in foreign currency deposits.

5. RMB loans increased by RMB5.61 trillion in the first two months

At end-February, outstanding RMB and foreign currency loans totaled RMB281.52 trillion, up 6 percent year on year. Outstanding RMB loans stood at RMB277.52 trillion, registering a year-on-year growth of 6 percent.

In the first two months, new RMB loans totaled RMB5.61 trillion. By sector, household loans decreased by RMB194.2 billion, with short-term loans decreasing by RMB359.6 billion and medium- and long-term (MLT) loans increasing by RMB165.4 billion; loans to enterprises and public institutions grew by RMB5.94 trillion, with an increase of RMB2.65 trillion in short-term loans and RMB4.07 trillion in medium- and long-term (MLT) loans, while bill financing decreased by RMB908.9 billion; loans to non-banking financial institutions dropped by RMB198.7 billion.

At end-February, outstanding foreign currency loans stood at USD578.1 billion, up 8.6 percent year on year. The first two months saw an increase of USD33.1 billion in foreign currency loans.

6. The monthly weighted average interest rates for interbank RMB lending and bond pledged repos in February stood at 1.4 percent and 1.44 percent respectively

In February, lending, cash bond, and repo transactions in the interbank RMB market totaled RMB145.3 trillion, with the daily average increasing by 40.1 percent year on year to RMB9.08 trillion. Specifically, the average daily turnovers of interbank lending and pledged repo trading grew by 87.1 percent and 53.2 percent year on year, respectively. In contrast, the average daily turnover of cash bond trading decreased by 10.8 percent year on year.

In February, the monthly weighted average interest rate for interbank lending stood at 1.4 percent, flat month on month but down 0.55 percentage points year on year. The monthly weighted average interest rate for pledged repos was 1.44 percent, up 0.01 percentage points month on month but down 0.56 percentage points year on year.

7. RMB cross-border settlement under the current account reached RMB1.22 trillion and RMB cross-border settlement of direct investment posted RMB0.5 trillion in February

In February, RMB cross-border settlement under the current account reached RMB1.22 trillion, including RMB0.97 trillion in settlement of trade in goods and RMB0.25 trillion in settlement of trade in services and other current account items. RMB cross-border settlement of direct investment amounted to RMB0.5 trillion, of which ODI and FDI posted RMB0.18 trillion and RMB0.32 trillion, respectively.

Notes:

1. Data for the current period are preliminary.

2. AFRE (Stock) refers to the outstanding financing provided by the financial system to the real economy at the end of a period (end of a month, end of a quarter or end of a year). AFRE (flow) refers to the volume of financing provided by the financial system to the real economy within a certain period. In the calculation of AFRE, data are from PBOC, NFRA, CSRC, CCDC, NAFMII, etc.

3. “Loans to enterprises and public institutions” in this report refers to loans to non-financial enterprises, government agencies, and organizations.

4. Starting from January 2023, the PBOC has incorporated into the coverage of financial statistics three types of non-depository banking financial institutions, i.e., consumer finance companies, wealth management companies, and financial asset investment companies, hence adjustments to “RMB loans to the real economy” and “loan write-offs” in AFRE.

5. Starting from January 2025 statistics, the PBOC has revised the measurement of narrow money supply (M1). The revised M1 consists of currency in circulation (M0), corporate demand deposits, personal demand deposits, and customers’ reserve funds with non-bank payment institutions. Adjusted accordingly on a comparable basis, the month-end M1 balances and growth rates of 2024 are shown below.