Q1 loan expansion robust in Shanghai

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

SHANGHAI, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Loan expansion in the first quarter was almost equivalent to that for the whole of last year in Shanghai, an economic powerhouse in eastern China, sources with the Shanghai headquarters of the People's Bank of China, the central bank, confirmed Saturday.

Between January and March, loan expansion by Chinese banks in the metropolis stood at 245.11 billion yuan (35.89 billion U.S. dollars), equivalent to 98.7 percent of that for the whole of 2008.

Of the total, home loans increased by 2.44 billion yuan, up 3.41 billion yuan on the same period of last year, and loans for consumption grew by 4.6 billion yuan, up 2.65 billion yuan.

Of the home loans, 2.24 billion yuan went to purchases of second-hand housing, 2.41 billion yuan higher than the year-earlier level.