Chinese Bankers See The Economy Heating Up - PBOC Survey

Chinese bankers believe China’s economy is improving with the Banker Macroeconomic Heat Index rebounding in Q3 for the first time since Q2 2021, according to a nationwide banker survey released on the People’s Bank of China website. The index rose 2.1 percentage points from the previous quarter to 19.9% in Q3. Around 61% of banks considered the current economic climate “relatively cool”, down 4.2 pps from Q2. Bankers expect the heat index to rise to 29.7% in Q4, the survey showed. Meanwhile, the overall loan demand index was 59%, up 2.4 pps from Q2, though 9.3 pps lower than the same period last year. Borrowing demand from manufacturers, infrastructure builders and retailers was recovering, though not for property developers.