BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese banks extended 1.15 trillion yuan (about 179.7 billion U.S. dollars) in new yuan-denominated loans in May, edging down from 1.18 trillion yuan in April, central bank data showed Tuesday.
The figure was 40.5 billion yuan more than the same period last year, the People's Bank of China said in an online statement.
As of the end of May, outstanding yuan loans grew 12 percent from a year earlier to 132.89 trillion yuan.
The M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, grew 8.3 percent year on year, unchanged with a month earlier.
The narrow measure of money supply (M1), which covers cash in circulation plus demand deposits, rose 6 percent year-on-year at the end of May, down from 7.2 percent at the end of April.
Total social finance, a broad measure of funds that non-financial firms and households get from the financial system, increased by 760.8 billion yuan in May, 302.3 billion yuan less than a year earlier.
