Central Bank: RMB loans increased by 4.71 trillion yuan in January, and the social financing scale expanded by 7.22 trillion yuan

1. Social Financing Stock Increased by 8.2% Year-on-Year

Preliminary statistics show that at the end of January 2026, the stock of social financing was 44.911 trillion yuan, up 8.2% year-on-year. Of this, RMB loans to the real economy totaled 27.33 trillion yuan, a 6.1% increase; foreign currency loans to the real economy, converted to RMB, amounted to 1.09 trillion yuan, a decrease of 12.1%; entrusted loans were 11.3 trillion yuan, up 0.2%; trust loans were 4.67 trillion yuan, up 7%; undiscounted bank acceptance bills were 2.78 trillion yuan, up 6.7%; corporate bonds were 34.69 trillion yuan, up 6.1%; government bonds were 95.9 trillion yuan, up 17.3%; and non-financial enterprise domestic stocks were 12.23 trillion yuan, up 3.9%.

In terms of structure, RMB loans to the real economy at the end of January accounted for 60.9% of the social financing stock, down 1.2 percentage points year-on-year; foreign currency loans to the real economy, converted to RMB, accounted for 0.2%, down 0.1 percentage points; entrusted loans accounted for 2.5%, down 0.2 percentage points; trust loans for 1%, down 0.1 percentage points; undiscounted bank acceptance bills for 0.6%, unchanged; corporate bonds for 7.7%, down 0.2 percentage points; government bonds for 21.4%, up 1.7 percentage points; and non-financial enterprise domestic stocks for 2.7%, down 0.1 percentage points.

2. January Social Financing Increment Was 7.22 Trillion Yuan

Preliminary statistics indicate that the social financing increase in January 2026 was 7.22 trillion yuan, 166.2 billion yuan more than the same period last year. Among these, RMB loans to the real economy increased by 4.9 trillion yuan, a decrease of 317.8 billion yuan compared to the same period last year; foreign currency loans to the real economy, converted to RMB, increased by 468 billion yuan, an increase of 86 billion yuan; entrusted loans decreased by 192 billion yuan, a reduction of 64.1 billion yuan; trust loans decreased by 4 billion yuan, a reduction of 62.7 billion yuan; undiscounted bank acceptance bills increased by 629.3 billion yuan, an increase of 163.9 billion yuan; net financing of corporate bonds was 503.3 billion yuan, up 57.9 billion yuan; net financing of government bonds was 976.4 billion yuan, up 283.1 billion yuan; and financing through domestic stocks of non-financial enterprises was 291 billion yuan, down 18.2 billion yuan.

3. Broad Money (M2) Grew by 9%

At the end of January, the broad money (M2) balance was 347.19 trillion yuan, a 9% increase year-on-year. Narrow money (M1) was 117.97 trillion yuan, up 4.9%. Currency in circulation (M0) was 14.61 trillion yuan, up 2.7%. Net cash injection in January was 519.1 billion yuan.

4. RMB Deposits Increased by 8.09 Trillion Yuan in January

By the end of January, the total deposits in RMB and foreign currencies were 344.46 trillion yuan, a 10.1% increase year-on-year. RMB deposits at the end of the month totaled 336.77 trillion yuan, up 9.9%.

In January, RMB deposits increased by 8.09 trillion yuan. Household deposits increased by 2.13 trillion yuan; non-financial enterprise deposits increased by 2.61 trillion yuan; fiscal deposits increased by 1.55 trillion yuan; and deposits of non-bank financial institutions increased by 1.45 trillion yuan.

At the end of January, foreign currency deposits totaled 1.1 trillion USD, a 23.7% increase. Foreign currency deposits increased by 43.8 billion USD in January.

5. RMB Loans Increased by 4.71 Trillion Yuan in January

At the end of January, the total balance of RMB and foreign currency loans was 280.59 trillion yuan, up 6% year-on-year. RMB loans at month-end were 276.62 trillion yuan, up 6.1%.

RMB loans increased by 4.71 trillion yuan in January. Breakdown by sector shows household loans increased by 456.5 billion yuan, including short-term loans up 109.7 billion yuan and medium- and long-term loans up 346.9 billion yuan; corporate (enterprise) loans increased by 4.45 trillion yuan, with short-term loans up 205 billion yuan and medium- and long-term loans up 318 billion yuan, while bill financing decreased by 873.9 billion yuan; loans to non-bank financial institutions decreased by 188.2 billion yuan.

At month-end, foreign currency loans totaled 570.1 billion USD, up 6.6%. Foreign currency loans increased by 25.1 billion USD in January.

6. January Interbank RMB Market Weighted Average Rates

The weighted average interest rate for interbank RMB market short-term lending in January was 1.4%, up 0.04 percentage points from the previous month and down 0.46 percentage points from the same period last year. The weighted average rate for pledged repo was 1.43%, up 0.03 percentage points from the previous month and down 0.73 percentage points year-on-year.

Total transactions in the interbank RMB market in January, including lending, securities, and repos, amounted to 211.96 trillion yuan, with an average daily turnover of 10.09 trillion yuan, a 36.1% increase year-on-year. Daily average turnover for interbank lending increased by 75.6%, securities by 9.2%, and pledged repos by 40.7%.

The weighted average interest rate for interbank lending was 1.4%, higher by 0.04 percentage points than last month, and 0.46 percentage points lower than last year. The weighted average for pledged repos was 1.43%, up 0.03 percentage points from last month and 0.73 percentage points lower than last year.

7. January Cross-Border RMB Settlement and Direct Investment

In January, the total amount of cross-border RMB settlement under current accounts was 1.49 trillion yuan, including 1.19 trillion yuan for goods trade, 0.3 trillion yuan for service trade, and other current account items. Cross-border RMB settlement for direct investment was 0.78 trillion yuan, with outward direct investment at 0.27 trillion yuan and foreign direct investment at 0.51 trillion yuan.

Note 1: The data for the current period are preliminary.

Note 2: The stock of social financing refers to the balance of funds obtained by the real economy from the financial system at the end of a specific period (month-end, quarter-end, or year-end). The increment of social financing is the amount obtained within a certain period. Data sources include the People’s Bank of China, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, China Securities Regulatory Commission, China Central Depository & Clearing Co., Ltd., and the National Interbank Funding Center.

Note 3: The “enterprise (public institution) loans” in the report refer to loans to non-financial enterprises and government agencies.

Note 4: Since January 2023, the People’s Bank of China has included consumer finance companies, wealth management companies, and financial asset investment companies—three types of non-deposit banking financial institutions—into the financial statistics scope. As a result, data on “RMB loans to the real economy” and “loan write-offs” in social financing have been adjusted.

Note 5: Starting from the January 2025 data, the People’s Bank of China adopted a revised narrow money (M1) statistical standard. The revised M1 includes: currency in circulation (M0), unit demand deposits, personal demand deposits, and reserve funds of non-bank payment institutions. Back-calculated under comparable standards, the M1 balances and growth rates at each month-end in 2024 are:

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(Source: People’s Bank of China website)