China's banks issued 1.01 trillion yuan ($139.66 billion) in new loans in February, an amount significantly lower than what analysts had predicted, as per Reuters calculations using data from the People's Bank of China (PBOC).
Analysts surveyed by Reuters had anticipated a decline in new yuan loans to 1.275 trillion yuan after a high of 5.13 trillion yuan in January.
The PBOC does not segregate monthly data, however, Reuters deduced the February loan amount from the bank's January-February figures released on Friday, in comparison to January's data.
(USD to CNY exchange rate: $1 = 7.2320 Chinese yuan renminbi)