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Total deposits with authorised institutions dropped 1% in March, with Hong Kong dollar deposits down 1.9%, the Monetary Authority says.
The decrease in Hong Kong dollar deposits was mainly driven by dips in savings and time deposits in a low-interest-rate environment.
However, foreign-currency deposits grew 0.1%, with renminbi deposits up 20.4% to 57.6 billion yuan, accounting for 2.3% of foreign-currency deposits.
Total loans and advances rose 2.2% in March as loans for use in Hong Kong grew 1.8% and loans for use outside Hong Kong rose 4.2%. The Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio rose to 76.5%, compared with 74.1% in February.
In the first quarter, loans for use in Hong Kong grew 6.3%. Analysed by economic uses, loans to manufacturing and lending to wholesale and retail trade recorded double-digit growth; loans to stockbrokers diminished.
Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong dollar M1 rose 3.1% in March, up 12.4% over a year earlier. Unadjusted Hong Kong dollar M3 dropped 1.9% during the month, but grew 7.8% year on year.
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