Macao banks approved some 8.5 billion patacas (1.06 billion USD) of new residential mortgage loans (RMLs) in the second quarter of this year, a remarkable increase of 115.2 percent over the same period last year, according to the figures released on Wednesday (Sept 1) by the Monetary Authority of Macao.

Of the newly-approved RMLs in the period, 92.7 percent was extended to residents, and, in terms of approved value, new RMLs to residents and non-residents grew respectively 21.3 percent and 26.5 percent over the first quarter of 2010, the figures from Monetary Authority indicated.

Meanwhile, new commercial real estate loans (CRELs) approved increased by 55.3 percent quarter-to-quarter to 8.3 billion patacas (1.03 billion USD) in the second quarter of this year, of which 85.9 percent was granted to residents, according to the Monetary Authority.

At the end of June this year, the delinquency ratio for RMLs stood at 0.13 percent, down 0.02 percentage points from three months earlier, while the ratio for CRELs went up 0.05 percentage points to 0.39 percent, the Monetary Authority also said.