XN000022-1995-10-31 — Page 5

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Savings deposits and time deposits rose by 2.2% and 3.8% in September, in contrast to decreases of 1.2% and 0.8% respectively in August.

Swap deposits fell by a further 1.3% in September, giving a cumulative reduction of 45.3% since November 1994, reflecting migration to HK$ time deposits since the removal of ceilings on certain time deposit rates. The fall in September was smaller than the average fall in earlier months this year as the adjustment process nears completion.

Supported by a 1.8% rise in non-US$ deposits which offset the 0.7% fall in US$ deposits, foreign currency deposits rose by 0.5% in September.

Loans and Advances

Total outstanding loans and advances rebounded by 0.7% in September, following declines of 0.1% in July and 3.8% in August. Within the total, HK$ loans grew by 0.2% and foreign currency loans grew by 0.9%. As HK$ deposits grew faster than HK$ loans, the HK$ loan-to-deposit ratio fell for the fourth consecutive month to 105.8%.

Quarterly Analysis of Loans for Use in Hong Kong by Major Economic Sector

During the September quarter, loans for domestic use rose by 2.0%, having grown 3.3% in the March quarter and 3.7% in the June quarter. Such moderation reflected a decline in loans for trade financing and slower growth in loans for manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade and home mortgages.

Money Supply

HK$MI fell by 11.7% in September, in line with the decrease in demand deposits in the month due to the typhoon on 31 August (explained above). The average monthly fall since July was 0.8%. HK$M2 and HK$M3 both grew by 1.1% in September, compared to 0.9% in August.