2010-12-17 09:29

BEIJING - China's banking regulator said Thursday it was requiring commercial banks in the country to be more prudent and strict in assessing credit risks amid concerns that new lending for the last month of the year could be more difficult to obtain.

The nation's central bank figures showed new yuan lending in the first 11 months reached 7.45 trillion yuan ($1.11 trillion) -- just shy of the government's 7.5-trillion-yuan full-year target.

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This has led some media to speculate that the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) might call on banks to control the scale of lending for December, a CBRC statement filed with Xinhua said.

The CBRC has worked to maintain a reasonable pace of credit growth since the start of the year by guiding commercial lenders to strictly adhere to the nation's overall lending target, the statement said.

But commercial banks should also meet the normal need for bank loans from individuals and companies in December, it said.

It also said financing for projects being constructed, loans to residents, and other daily financial services should not be affected.