In December, China's central bank extended 350-billion-yuan ($49.1 billion) in loans to policy banks through its pledged supplementary lending (PSL) facility, signalling potential increased assistance to the country's struggling housing sector. The People's Bank of China, in a statement, did not specify how the China Development Bank, Export-Import Bank of China, and Agricultural Development Bank of China would utilise these funds.
This marks the first monthly upturn in PSL loans since November 2022. Between September and November 2022, the PBOC had allocated 630 billion yuan in PSL loans to support the Chinese economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The rise in PSL loans suggests a strengthening quasi-fiscal policy, with potential ties to infrastructure development and affordable housing projects," remarked Ma Hong, a senior analyst at Zhixin Investment Research Institute.
In a bid to bolster the struggling property market, Beijing had reportedly planned to allocate at least 1 trillion yuan in low-cost financing for China's urban village redevelopment and affordable housing programs.
As of the end of December, outstanding PSL loans totalled 3.252 trillion yuan, compared to 2.902 trillion yuan at the end of November, according to the PBOC.
Initiated in 2014, the PSL program was initially intended to support property markets during downturns by funding urban redevelopment, consequently driving up property prices. China had heavily relied on PSL loans for shanty-town renovation between 2015 and 2018.
