Total deposits fall 1% in March

Hong Kong-dollar deposits decrease by 0.8%.

The Monetary Authority also said renminbi deposits in Hong Kong rose 2.5% to RMB668.1 billion, while overall foreign-currency deposits fell 1.2%.

Total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB340.8 billion for March compared with RMB221.7 billion in the previous month.

Total loans and advances increased 1.2% in March. Loans for use in Hong Kong including trade finance went up 1.2%, while loans for use outside Hong Kong increased 1.4%.

As Hong Kong-dollar loans increased while Hong Kong-dollar deposits declined, the Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio edged up to 80.6% at the end of March from 79.7% a month ago.

In the first quarter of 2013, loans for use in Hong Kong including trade finance expanded by 3.1%, following a rise of 2.4% in the previous quarter.

Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 increased 0.3% in March and expanded 17.7% year on year. Unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 declined 0.7% during the month but grew 9.2% from a year earlier.