"Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Chinese banks have begun restricting new loans, responding to a push by regulators to contain credit after a surge in lending in the first half of this month.
Bank of China Ltd. has stopped extending new corporate loans in the Shanghai area, said a person familiar with the matter who declined to be identified. China Construction Bank Corp.’s branch in the city has been told to screen applications for personal loans and mortgages more carefully and to stop new lending once a monthly quota is met, another person said.
China’s benchmark stock index fell to a three-month low today on concern a government clampdown on lending will slow the world’s third-largest economy. Credit Suisse Group AG said in a note today that a countrywide lending halt that started Jan. 19 may trigger a “meaningful” decline in manufacturing.
“This round of quantitative tightening seems to be more serious than we thought after Beijing was shocked by the lending figures in the first two weeks of this year,” Credit Suisse economist Dong Tao wrote in the report. “We would not be surprised if banks imposed a monthly lending quota, as against a quarterly quota in 2008.”
By Keiko Ujikane"
"Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Japan’s sovereign credit rating outlook was lowered by Standard and Poor’s because of diminishing “flexibility” to cope with the nation’s swelling debt load.
The credit-rating company said the Democratic Party of Japan’s policies “point to a slower pace of fiscal consolidation than we had previously expected,” adding that the rating could be cut if the government fails to come up with measures to spur growth and economic data remains weak.
S&P retained a AA long-term rating for Japan, the third- highest grade. " |
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