State banks to up credit, optimize loan structure

China's large State-owned commercial banks said they will maintain reasonable credit growth, further optimize their loan structure and appropriately grant loans early on this year to support the real economy.

Since the beginning of this year, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has fully grasped the need for stabilizing growth and the momentum of China's economic recovery, and continued to increase the intensity of credit granting. Currently, the bank's domestic renminbi-denominated corporate loans have increased by more than 1 trillion yuan ($145.2 billion) from the beginning of the year, reaching a historical level, said Zhang Wenwu, senior executive vice-president of ICBC.

The bank has further optimized its loan structure, with the loan balance for strategic emerging industries exceeding 2 trillion yuan. Loans for consumer goods such as housing, new energy vehicles and catering and tourism have also grown rapidly, promoting faster consumption recovery, Zhang said.