Bank loans see striking rise in Jan

Chinese banks issued 1.62 trillion yuan ($237 billion) in new loans in January, up 101 percent year-on-year, prompting some economists to say the government might not cut interest rates for the time being to boost the economy.

The massive jump in lending is equal to about one-third of the loans issued in the whole of 2008, a year that began on a generally tight credit line, the central bank said yesterday.

M2, which includes cash and all types of deposits and indicates overall liquidity in the financial system, grew in January, too, by 18.8 percent year-on-year. It increased 17.8 percent in December.