Chinese banks extended a record high of new loans during the first month of 2024 – an indication of Beijing’s efforts to stabilise growth in the world’s second-largest economy.

The yuan-denominated new loans reached a record high of 4.92 trillion yuan (US$684 billion) in January, according to data released by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) on Friday.

The figure was higher than 4.9 trillion yuan extended in January 2023 and 1.17 trillion yuan in December. It also beat domestic expectations of 4.67 trillion yuan, as indicated in a poll by Chinese financial information provider Wind.

The aggregated financing, which includes bank credit, bonds and stock market funding, was 6.5 trillion yuan last month, 506.1 billion yuan higher than a year earlier.