According to a statement issued by the People's Bank of China (Chinese central bank) on February 15, Chinese banks issued RMB 1.04 trillion ($157.8 billion) in new local currency loans in January this year, down RMB 318.2 billion compared to January last year, amid the country's renewed efforts to control excessive liquidity and rising inflation.
Economists have commented that China is unlikely to loosen its monetary policy as it still faces an uphill battle to cool inflation, which hit 4.9 percent in January.
The Chinese central bank raised interest rates last week for the third time since October and has hiked the deposit reserve requirement ratio for banks seven times since the beginning of 2010.
In 2010, new RMB-based loans in China rose to RMB 7.95 trillion ($1.2 trillion), exceeding the government's target of RMB 7.5 trillion ($1.14 trillion). Over the same period, inflation jumped by 3.3 percent year on year, exceeding the official target of three percent.