Monetary Statistics for February 2022

According to statistics published today (31 March) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions decreased by 1.1% in February 2022 after increasing by 2.6% in January.  Among the total, Hong Kong dollar deposits increased by 0.5% in February, while foreign currency deposits decreased by 2.6%.  Driven by fund flows of corporates, renminbi deposits in Hong Kong dropped by 17.3% in February after increasing significantly by 18.2% in January, amounting to RMB906.7 billion at the end of February.  The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB500.7 billion in February, compared with RMB699.4 billion in January.  It should be noted that changes in deposits are affected by a wide range of factors, such as interest rate movements and fund-raising activities.  It is therefore more appropriate to observe the longer-term trends, and not to over-generalise fluctuations in a single month.  In the first two months of 2022, total deposits and Hong Kong dollar deposits grew by 1.4% and 1.8% respectively.

Total loans and advances edged up by 0.1% in February, and rose by 0.9% in the first two months of 2022.  Among the total, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) increased by 0.4% in February, while loans for use outside Hong Kong declined by 0.4%.  The Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio decreased to 85.3% at the end of February from 85.7% at the end of January, as Hong Kong dollar deposits increased while Hong Kong dollar loans remained virtually unchanged.

Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 both grew by 0.3% in February, but both decreased by 1.1% compared to a year ago.  Large-scale IPO activities at the end of February 2021 led to a high base effect on the year-on-year growth of money supply.  Excluding the deposits created by the IPO-related loans, Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 in February both increased by 0.8% compared to a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted Hong Kong dollar M1 rose by 3.2% in February, and grew by 4.2% compared to a year ago, reflecting in part investment-related activities.  Total M2 and M3 both declined by 1.2% in February, but increased by 3.6% and 3.5% respectively from a year earlier. Excluding the deposits created by the IPO-related loans, total M2 and M3 both picked up by 4.6% from a year earlier.

As monthly monetary statistics are subject to volatilities due to a wide range of transient factors, such as seasonal and IPO-related funding demand as well as business and investment-related activities, caution is required when interpreting the statistics.

Annex

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
31 March 2022