PBOC: Aggregate Financing Grows 27.46 Trillion Yuan in First Three Quarters as RMB Loans Rise 11.52 Trillion, FX Reserves Hold at $3.4 Trillion

The People's Bank of China released its monetary, credit and financial statistics for September and the first three quarters of 2026.

1. Outstanding aggregate financing up 7.1% year on year

Preliminary statistics show that the outstanding stock of aggregate financing to the real economy reached 468.17 trillion yuan at the end of September 2026, up 7.1% from a year earlier. Within the total, the balance of RMB loans to the real economy stood at 279.9 trillion yuan, up 4.8% year on year; the balance of foreign currency loans to the real economy, converted into RMB, was 1.25 trillion yuan, up 6.4%; entrusted loans totaled 11.34 trillion yuan, up 1.5%; trust loans reached 4.53 trillion yuan, up 0.7%; undiscounted bankers' acceptances came to 2.22 trillion yuan, down 8.8%; corporate bonds stood at 36.62 trillion yuan, up 9.3%; government bonds amounted to 105.23 trillion yuan, up 13.7%; and domestic equity of non-financial enterprises totaled 12.73 trillion yuan, up 5.8%.

In terms of structure, RMB loans to the real economy accounted for 59.8% of the stock of aggregate financing at the end of September, 1.3 percentage points lower than a year earlier; foreign currency loans accounted for 0.3%, flat year on year; entrusted loans 2.4%, down 0.2 percentage points; trust loans 1%, unchanged; undiscounted bankers' acceptances 0.5%, down 0.1 percentage points; corporate bonds 7.8%, up 0.1 percentage points; government bonds 22.5%, up 1.3 percentage points; and domestic equity of non-financial enterprises 2.7%, down 0.1 percentage points.

2. Aggregate financing up 27.46 trillion yuan in the first three quarters

In the first three quarters of 2026, the incremental flow of aggregate financing totaled 27.46 trillion yuan, 2.63 trillion yuan less than in the same period a year earlier. RMB loans to the real economy increased by 11.5 trillion yuan, 3.04 trillion yuan less year on year; foreign currency loans rose by 245.1 billion yuan, 339.7 billion yuan more; entrusted loans rose by 22.2 billion yuan, 79.4 billion yuan more; trust loans fell by 138.3 billion yuan, a larger decline of 338.7 billion yuan; undiscounted bankers' acceptances rose by 74.8 billion yuan, 226.3 billion yuan less; net corporate bond financing reached 2.75 trillion yuan, 1.18 trillion yuan more; net government bond financing was 10.3 trillion yuan, 1.16 trillion yuan less; and equity financing by non-financial enterprises on the domestic market totaled 535.9 billion yuan, 219.1 billion yuan more.

3. Broad money up 7.2%

M2 stood at 359.63 trillion yuan at the end of September, up 7.2% year on year. M1 was 116.76 trillion yuan, up 3.2%, while M0 in circulation was 15.02 trillion yuan, up 10.6%. Net cash injection in the first three quarters amounted to 922.1 billion yuan.

4. RMB deposits up 20.76 trillion yuan in the first three quarters

Domestic and foreign currency deposits totaled 357.52 trillion yuan at the end of September, up 7.6% year on year, with RMB deposits at 349.45 trillion yuan, up 7.5%. RMB deposits rose by 20.76 trillion yuan in the first three quarters, including a 9.39 trillion yuan increase in household deposits, 3.16 trillion yuan in non-financial corporate deposits, 1.63 trillion yuan in fiscal deposits and 4.41 trillion yuan in deposits of non-bank financial institutions. Foreign currency deposits stood at US$1.2 trillion at the end of September, up 17.7%, an increase of US$139.4 billion in the first three quarters.

5. RMB loans up 11.52 trillion yuan in the first three quarters

Domestic and foreign currency loans totaled 287.29 trillion yuan at the end of September, up 4.7% year on year, with RMB loans at 283.44 trillion yuan, up 4.8%. RMB loans increased by 11.52 trillion yuan in the first three quarters. By borrower, household loans fell by 1.03 trillion yuan, with short-term loans down 1.14 trillion yuan and medium- and long-term loans up 106.2 billion yuan; loans to enterprises and institutions rose by 12.55 trillion yuan, including 4.64 trillion yuan of short-term loans, 6.53 trillion yuan of medium- and long-term loans and 1.24 trillion yuan of bill financing; loans to non-bank financial institutions fell by 586.5 billion yuan. Foreign currency loans stood at US$571.9 billion at the end of September, up 3.1%, an increase of US$26.8 billion in the first three quarters.

6. Interbank market rates average 1.4% in September

In the first three quarters, transactions in the RMB interbank market through interbank lending, cash bond trading and repurchase agreements totaled 1,713.26 trillion yuan, with average daily turnover of 9.21 trillion yuan, up 7.6% year on year. Average daily interbank lending rose 9.6%, cash bond trading rose 4% and pledged repo transactions rose 8.1%. The weighted average rate on interbank lending was 1.4% in September, up 0.02 percentage points from the previous month and down 0.05 percentage points from a year earlier; the weighted average rate on pledged repos was 1.4%, unchanged from the previous month and 0.06 percentage points lower year on year.

7. Foreign exchange reserves at US$3.4 trillion

China's foreign exchange reserves stood at US$3.4 trillion at the end of September. The RMB exchange rate was 6.7351 yuan per US dollar at the end of September.

8. Cross-border RMB settlement

In the first three quarters, cross-border RMB settlement under the current account reached 15.23 trillion yuan, including 11.92 trillion yuan for trade in goods and 3.31 trillion yuan for trade in services and other current account items. Cross-border RMB settlement for direct investment totaled 6.11 trillion yuan, of which outward direct investment accounted for 2.2 trillion yuan and foreign direct investment 3.91 trillion yuan.

Notes: (1) Current-period data are preliminary. (2) The stock of aggregate financing refers to the balance of funds obtained by the real economy from the financial system at the end of a given period, while the increment refers to the amount obtained during a given period. Data come from the People's Bank of China, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, China Central Depository & Clearing Co., the National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors and other agencies. (3) Loans to enterprises and institutions refer to loans to non-financial enterprises as well as government agencies and organizations. (4) Since January 2023, the PBOC has included consumer finance companies, wealth management companies and financial asset investment companies in its financial statistics, with corresponding adjustments to RMB loans to the real economy and to loan write-offs. (5) From the January 2025 data onward, the PBOC adopted a revised statistical caliber for M1, which now covers M0, corporate demand deposits, household demand deposits and customer reserves of non-bank payment institutions.