In the first quarter, RMB loans increased by 9.46 trillion yuan, which is at a relatively high level in the same period in history; The stock of social financing scale is 390.32 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.7%; The balance of broad money (M2) was 304.8 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.3%... The latest data from the People's Bank of China shows that financial support entities were in good condition in the first quarter. Authoritative experts believe that overall, the scale of social financing and loan disbursement in the first quarter basically met the expectations of market participants, effectively meeting the reasonable financing needs of the real economy and adapting to the current economic growth situation. Although the loan growth rate has slowed down, the quality and efficiency of financial services for the real economy have significantly improved. In the first quarter of this year, the total amount of loans steadily increased and was evenly distributed. At the end of March, the balance of various RMB loans was 247.05 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.6%, 0.5 percentage points lower than the previous month. "In the first quarter, there was a new RMB loan of 9.46 trillion yuan, an increase of over 1 trillion yuan compared to the same period in 2022, which is at a relatively high level in history." Authoritative experts said that banks had a "good start" in the first quarter of last year, which caused some overdraft in the following three quarters. Since the second half of 2023, the People's Bank of China has focused on guiding financial institutions to strengthen balanced credit allocation, avoid capital accumulation and idle, and leave room for sustainable support for the real economy. Behind the year-on-year decrease in new loans is a change in the pace of credit disbursement. In 2023, bank credit disbursement was generally at the forefront, with 50% of the full year's disbursement in the first quarter. But this year, banks are more concerned about "balancing the pace of credit disbursement" and pursuing "stable quantity and excellent quality". Lin Shu, General Manager of the Planning and Finance Department of Industrial Bank, stated that the bank has increased its asset allocation on the asset side and has set a loan target of 500 billion yuan this year. It will complete 40% in the first quarter. "In the first quarter of this year, the proportion of bank credit investment in the total new credit has generally significantly converged compared to the same period last year." Lian Ping, Chairman of the China Chief Economist Forum, pointed out that the People's Bank of China's demand for more balanced credit investment this year is actually extending the excessively high loans in the previous quarter to subsequent months, providing stable and balanced credit support for the real economy. While credit growth is more rational, the credit structure continued to optimize in the first quarter. Data shows that in the first quarter, loans from enterprises and institutions increased by 7.77 trillion yuan, accounting for over 80% of all new loans. At the end of March, the growth rate of green loans, inclusive small and micro loans, and medium - and long-term loans in the manufacturing industry remained at a high level of 20% -30%. The growth rate of private enterprise loans continues to be faster than the growth rate of all loans. More than 90% of the science and technology innovation enterprises currently receiving loan support are private enterprises. Since the beginning of this year, the People's Bank of China has accelerated the layout of the "Five Major Articles", and has fully disbursed an additional 500 billion yuan of PSL credit. Recently, it has set up loans for technological innovation and renovation to support equipment updates and economic transformation, and will also relax the recognition standards for inclusive small and micro loans. Several banking professionals have also stated that in serving the real economy, this year they are particularly focused on actively investing financial resources to assist in the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, as well as supporting the innovative development of advanced manufacturing industries to form new productive forces and promote high-quality development of the real economy. CITIC Bank