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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
According to statistics published today (March 31) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions decreased by 0.3% in February 2015. As the decrease in demand deposits exceeded the increase in savings and time deposits, Hong Kong-dollar deposits declined by 1.0% during the month. Overall foreign-currency deposits grew by 0.3% in February, while renminbi deposits in Hong Kong decreased by 0.9% to RMB973.0 billion at the end of February. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB462.0 billion in February, compared with RMB548.0 billion in January.
Total loans and advances stayed virtually unchanged in February. Loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) decreased by 0.8%, while loans for use outside Hong Kong expanded by 1.8%. As Hong Kong-dollar loans decreased at a slower pace than deposits, the Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio increased to 83.0% at the end of February from 82.5% at the end of January.
Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 decreased by 0.6% in February and expanded by 10.4% year on year. Seasonally unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 declined by 0.5% in February and rose by 6.3% from a year earlier.
Ends/Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Issued at HKT 17:19
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