China's Social Financing Stock Rises 7.2% in August; New Aggregate Financing Totals 23.91 Trillion Yuan in First Eight Months

I. Aggregate social financing stock grew 7.2% year-on-year

Preliminary statistics show that at the end of August 2026, China's stock of aggregate social financing (AFRE) stood at 464.8 trillion yuan, up 7.2% year-on-year. Of this, yuan loans extended to the real economy reached 278.63 trillion yuan, up 5%; foreign-currency loans to the real economy stood at 1.23 trillion yuan equivalent, up 3.1%; entrusted loans totaled 11.26 trillion yuan, up 1%; trust loans totaled 4.58 trillion yuan, up 1.9%; undiscounted bankers' acceptances totaled 2.01 trillion yuan, down 5.1%; corporate bond balances were 36.71 trillion yuan, up 9.7%; government bond balances were 103.69 trillion yuan, up 13.5%; and domestic equity financing of non-financial enterprises totaled 12.67 trillion yuan, up 5.7%.

By structure, at the end of August, yuan loans to the real economy accounted for 59.9% of the AFRE stock, 1.3 percentage points lower year-on-year; foreign-currency loans to the real economy accounted for 0.3%, flat year-on-year; entrusted loans accounted for 2.4%, down 0.2 percentage points; trust loans accounted for 1%, flat; undiscounted bankers' acceptances accounted for 0.4%, down 0.1 percentage points; corporate bonds accounted for 7.9%, up 0.2 percentage points; government bonds accounted for 22.3%, up 1.2 percentage points; and domestic equity financing of non-financial enterprises accounted for 2.7%, down 0.1 percentage points.

II. New AFRE totaled 23.91 trillion yuan in the first eight months

Preliminary statistics show that in the first eight months of 2026, new aggregate social financing totaled 23.91 trillion yuan, 2.64 trillion yuan less than in the same period last year. Of this, yuan loans to the real economy increased by 10.23 trillion yuan, 2.71 trillion yuan less year-on-year; foreign-currency loans to the real economy increased by 210.3 billion yuan equivalent, 291.9 billion yuan more year-on-year; entrusted loans decreased by 58.2 billion yuan, 27.3 billion yuan less in decline year-on-year; trust loans decreased by 90.5 billion yuan, 284.7 billion yuan more in decline; undiscounted bankers' acceptances decreased by 140.4 billion yuan, 118.1 billion yuan more in decline; net corporate bond financing was 2.79 trillion yuan, 1.23 trillion yuan more year-on-year; net government bond financing was 8.77 trillion yuan, 1.5 trillion yuan less; and domestic equity financing of non-financial enterprises was 470 billion yuan, 203.1 billion yuan more.

III. Broad money M2 grew 7.5%

At the end of August, broad money (M2) stood at 356.81 trillion yuan, up 7.5% year-on-year. Narrow money (M1) stood at 115.77 trillion yuan, up 4.1%. Currency in circulation (M0) stood at 14.83 trillion yuan, up 11.2%. Net cash injection in the first eight months totaled 736.4 billion yuan.

IV. Yuan deposits rose 18.99 trillion yuan in the first eight months

At the end of August, total deposits in both domestic and foreign currencies stood at 355.77 trillion yuan, up 7.8% year-on-year. Yuan deposits stood at 347.67 trillion yuan, up 7.7%.

Yuan deposits increased by 18.99 trillion yuan in the first eight months, of which household deposits rose 6.99 trillion yuan, deposits of non-financial enterprises rose 1.85 trillion yuan, fiscal deposits rose 2.06 trillion yuan, and deposits of non-bank financial institutions rose 6.32 trillion yuan.

At the end of August, foreign-currency deposits stood at US$1.19 trillion, up 17.3% year-on-year, with an increase of US$134.2 billion in the first eight months.

V. Yuan loans rose 10.44 trillion yuan in the first eight months

At the end of August, total loans in both domestic and foreign currencies stood at 286.15 trillion yuan, up 4.8% year-on-year. Yuan loans stood at 282.35 trillion yuan, up 4.9%.

Yuan loans increased by 10.44 trillion yuan in the first eight months. By sector, household loans decreased by 1.03 trillion yuan, of which short-term loans fell 1.05 trillion yuan and medium- and long-term loans rose 18.8 billion yuan; loans to enterprises and institutions increased by 11.26 trillion yuan, of which short-term loans rose 4.18 trillion yuan, medium- and long-term loans rose 5.64 trillion yuan, and bill financing rose 1.29 trillion yuan; loans to non-bank financial institutions decreased by 438 billion yuan.

At the end of August, foreign-currency loans stood at US$560.2 billion, up 1.5% year-on-year, with an increase of US$15.1 billion in the first eight months.

VI. August interbank rates: weighted average lending rate 1.38%, pledged repo rate 1.4%

In August, total turnover in the interbank RMB market via lending, cash bond trading and repos reached 177.41 trillion yuan, with a daily average of 8.45 trillion yuan, down 12.5% year-on-year. Daily average turnover fell 24.6% for interbank lending, rose 2.3% for cash bonds, and fell 15.1% for pledged repos.

In August, the weighted average interbank lending rate was 1.38%, down 0.02 percentage points from the previous month and from a year earlier; the weighted average pledged repo rate was 1.4%, down 0.02 percentage points month-on-month and 0.01 percentage points year-on-year.

VII. August cross-border RMB settlement: 1.7 trillion yuan under current account, 0.6 trillion yuan under direct investment

In August, cross-border RMB settlement under the current account totaled 1.7 trillion yuan, of which goods trade accounted for 1.33 trillion yuan and services trade and other current items 0.37 trillion yuan. Cross-border RMB settlement under direct investment totaled 0.6 trillion yuan, of which outbound direct investment accounted for 0.21 trillion yuan and foreign direct investment 0.39 trillion yuan.

Notes: Data for the current period are preliminary. The AFRE stock refers to the balance of funds obtained from the financial system by the real economy at a point in time, and the AFRE flow refers to funds obtained during a given period. Data are compiled from the People's Bank of China, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, China Central Depository & Clearing, and NAFMII. Since January 2025, the PBOC has applied a revised statistical scope for narrow money (M1), which now includes currency in circulation (M0), demand deposits of corporations, personal demand deposits, and client reserve funds of non-bank payment institutions.