Banks make "positive" changes to loan structure: regulator

China's Banking Regulatory Commission says in its latest report that the country's financial institutions made "positive" changes to their loan structure in the first six months of the year.

According to the regulator, short-terms loans from banks and financial institutions increased in the January-June period to make up 52 percent of total loans.

By the end of June, short-term loans were up 1.13 trillion yuan on the beginning of the year, and the mid- and long-term loans up 1.05 trillion yuan, said the commission, without divulging the exact loan figures.

Banks and financial institutions have been granting more loans to agriculture, individuals and small firms.

By the end of June, individual consumption loans totaled 1.3 trillion yuan, up 11 percent, or 136.4 billion yuan more than the same period of 2005.

Agriculture loans stood at 1.3 trillion yuan, up 20 percent from January-June 2005.

The commission has been urging banks and financial institutions to be wary of loaning money to sectors facing overcapacity situations and asked them to adopt prudent loan policies.

It urged them to optimize their overall loan structure and curb the fast growth of mid- and long-term loans, encouraging them to issue loans to small enterprises and individuals to help spur domestic consumption.

Source: Xinhua