Chinese banks extend lending to small firms

Chinese banks have extended more loans to small firms to ease their financial predicaments as the government tightens monetary supply.

Outstanding loans to small firms grew 26.6 percent year-on-year to hit 9.85 trillion yuan or 1.55 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of July, said Xiao Yuanqi, an official in charge of financial services for small enterprises at the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

The growth was 10 percentage points higher than that of the banks' total outstanding loans, Xiao told Xinhua News.

More than 100 commercial banks have set up special operations to ease small firms' difficulties getting access to bank credit, he noted.

The figures came at a time when China is trying to balance the missions of countering inflation and sustaining the growth of small enterprises.