(Yicai Global) Oct. 20 -- Chinese lenders continue to ramp up credit flow this month, following strong growth last month, to provide more support to the real economy. Credit is likely to remain loose this quarter, market participants told Yicai Global.

We are extending as much credit as we can without holding back, some banking insiders at large state-backed banks, joint-stock banks and regional city banks said. Others said that they were using unconventional measures to issue as many loans as possible.

There could be a new burst of credit issuance this month, said Wang Yifeng, chief analyst of the banking sector at Everbright Securities. Social financing may surge by up to 10.8 percent in October from the same period last year, topping CNY2 trillion (USD276.6 billion). This would be a further improvement on September’s 10.6 percent growth.

“Things are different this year,” said the assistant to the president of a branch of an urban bank. “In previous years, credit issuance during the fourth quarter was usually a wrapping up of the year’s quota and the volume would be limited to prepare for a big wave of loans at the start of the following year. But this year loan distribution in the last three months is still on the rise.”

The bank is also offering preferential rates to micro, small and medium-sized businesses as well as manufacturers, the assistant said.

One joint-stock bank is hiking lending and doing what it can to even exceed its distribution quota, the president of one of its branches in eastern China said.

The bank is extending credit in four main areas, the person said. The first is to micro and small enterprises as well as scientific and technological startups and eco-friendly businesses, the second is to the manufacturing industry, the third is towards real estate developers and individual mortgage holders and the fourth is for infrastructure construction projects.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor