MACAO -- Macao banks approved some 8.5 billion patacas ($1.06 billion) of new residential mortgage loans (RMLs) in the first quarter of 2011, down 18.8 percent over the fourth quarter of 2010, according to the figures released on Monday by the Monetary Authority of Macao.
Of the newly-approved RMLs in the period, 94 percent was extended to residents, and, in terms of approved value, new RMLs to residents and non-residents dropped respectively 17.9 percent and 31 percent over the previous quarter, the figures from Monetary Authority indicated.
Meanwhile, new commercial real estate loans (CRELs) approved decreased by 17.6 percent quarter on quarter to 6.2 billion patacas in the first quarter of this year, of which 87.3 percent was granted to residents, according to the Monetary Authority.
At the end of March this year, the delinquency ratio for RMLs stood at 0.09 percent, down 0.01 percentage points from three months earlier, while the ratio for CRELs went up 0.24 percentage points to 0.41 percent, the Monetary Authority also said.
