China’s bank lending and credit provision hit records in March, indicating that government efforts to boost support for the economy may be having an effect. Aggregate financing increased by 5.15 trillion yuan ($732 billion) last month, compared to a median estimate of 3.14 trillion yuan. That was a record for any month in comparable data back to 2017. Financial institutions offered 2.85 trillion yuan ($405 billion) of new loans in the month, versus a projected 1.8 trillion yuan. That was the highest figure for March since data began in 1992. Key Insights Broad M2 money supply grew 10.1% from a year earlier, the ... (full story)