China Aggregate Financing Stock Reaches RMB 464.8 Trillion at End-August 2026, Up 7.2% Year on Year

The People's Bank of China released its August 2026 financial statistics report on September 14. In the first eight months, cumulative incremental aggregate financing to the real economy reached RMB 23.91 trillion, RMB 2.64 trillion less than the same period of 2025. At end-August, the balance of RMB loans to the real economy stood at RMB 278.63 trillion, up 5% year on year; the balance of foreign currency loans to the real economy, converted into RMB, was RMB 1.23 trillion, up 3.1%; corporate bond balances were RMB 36.71 trillion, up 9.7%; government bond balances were RMB 103.69 trillion, up 13.5%; and domestic equity balances of non-financial enterprises were RMB 12.67 trillion, up 5.7%.

By incremental component, in the first eight months RMB loans to the real economy increased by RMB 10.23 trillion, RMB 2.71 trillion less than a year earlier; foreign currency loans to the real economy, converted into RMB, increased by RMB 210.3 billion, RMB 291.9 billion more than a year earlier; entrusted loans decreased by RMB 58.2 billion, a smaller decline of RMB 27.3 billion; trust loans decreased by RMB 90.5 billion, a larger decline of RMB 284.7 billion; and undiscounted bankers' acceptances decreased by RMB 140.4 billion, a larger decline of RMB 118.1 billion. Over the same period, net corporate bond financing was RMB 2.79 trillion, RMB 1.23 trillion more than a year earlier; net government bond financing was RMB 8.77 trillion, RMB 1.5 trillion less; and domestic equity financing by non-financial enterprises was RMB 470 billion, RMB 203.1 billion more.

On money supply, at end-August broad money (M2) stood at RMB 356.81 trillion, up 7.5% year on year; narrow money (M1) was RMB 115.77 trillion, up 4.1%; and currency in circulation (M0) was RMB 14.83 trillion, up 11.2%. In the first eight months, net cash injections totaled RMB 736.4 billion. The growth gap between M2 and M1 narrowed to 3.4 percentage points from 3.7 percentage points a month earlier.

On lending, at end-August the balance of domestic and foreign currency loans was RMB 286.15 trillion, up 4.8% year on year, and the balance of RMB loans was RMB 282.35 trillion, up 4.9%. In the first eight months, RMB loans increased by RMB 10.44 trillion. By sector, household loans decreased by RMB 1.03 trillion, of which short-term loans fell by RMB 1.05 trillion and medium- and long-term loans rose by RMB 18.8 billion; loans to enterprises and public institutions increased by RMB 11.26 trillion, of which short-term loans rose by RMB 4.18 trillion, medium- and long-term loans rose by RMB 5.64 trillion, and bill financing rose by RMB 1.29 trillion; loans to non-bank financial institutions decreased by RMB 438 billion. At end-August, foreign currency loan balances stood at USD 560.2 billion, up 1.5% year on year, with foreign currency loans increasing by USD 15.1 billion in the first eight months. Based on cumulative first-eight-month data, RMB loans increased by RMB 60 billion in August.

On deposits, at end-August the balance of domestic and foreign currency deposits was RMB 355.77 trillion, up 7.8% year on year, and the balance of RMB deposits was RMB 347.67 trillion, up 7.7%. In the first eight months, RMB deposits increased by RMB 18.99 trillion, of which household deposits rose by RMB 6.99 trillion, non-financial enterprise deposits rose by RMB 1.85 trillion, fiscal deposits rose by RMB 2.06 trillion, and deposits of non-bank financial institutions rose by RMB 6.32 trillion. At end-August, foreign currency deposit balances stood at USD 1.19 trillion, up 17.3% year on year, with foreign currency deposits increasing by USD 134.2 billion in the first eight months.

On financing structure, in the first eight months of 2026, the share of bond and equity financing in incremental aggregate financing rose to 50.31%, exceeding the 42.79% share of loans and nearly 20 percentage points higher than the same period five years earlier. The share of corporate bonds in incremental aggregate financing rose to 11.67%, about 5.8 percentage points higher than the same period of 2025. At end-August, the balance of RMB loans grew 4.9% year on year, and loans in the areas covered by the financial sector's five major priorities maintained double-digit growth, with their share of total loan increments rising above 70%. The balance of inclusive loans to small and micro businesses was RMB 38.13 trillion, up 8.3% year on year; the balance of medium- and long-term loans to the service sector excluding real estate was RMB 62.25 trillion, up 9.3%.

On funding costs, the weighted average interest rate on newly issued corporate loans in August was slightly below 3%, about 0.2 percentage points lower than the same period of 2025; the weighted average interest rate on newly issued personal housing loans was 3.1%, and the yield to maturity on five-year AAA-rated corporate bonds was 1.73%. In August, total interbank RMB market turnover through lending, outright bond trading, and repurchase agreements was RMB 177.41 trillion, with average daily turnover of RMB 8.45 trillion, down 12.5% year on year. Average daily turnover in interbank lending fell 24.6% year on year, average daily outright bond trading rose 2.3%, and average daily pledged repurchase turnover fell 15.1%. The weighted average interest rate for interbank lending in August was 1.38%, 0.02 percentage points lower than the previous month and 0.02 percentage points lower than the same period of 2025; the weighted average interest rate for pledged repurchase agreements was 1.4%, 0.02 percentage points lower than the previous month and 0.01 percentage points lower than the same period of 2025.

On cross-border RMB settlement, in August cross-border RMB settlement under the current account totaled RMB 1.7 trillion, of which goods trade accounted for RMB 1.33 trillion and services trade and other current account items accounted for RMB 0.37 trillion; cross-border RMB settlement for direct investment totaled RMB 0.6 trillion, of which outward direct investment accounted for RMB 0.21 trillion and foreign direct investment accounted for RMB 0.39 trillion. The 15th Five-Year Plan for Building a Financial Power was recently issued, setting out systematic arrangements for financial work during the 15th Five-Year Plan period and emphasizing the main line of preventing risks, strengthening supervision, and promoting high-quality development.