PBC Data: Strong Growth in Sci-Tech and Green Loans in Q1 2026
Recently, the People’s Bank of China (PBC) released relevant data and statistical reports, showing that China has continuously increased financial support for key areas such as sci-tech innovation and green development in the first quarter of 2026. The steady growth of sci-tech and green loans has effectively boosted the transformation of new and old driving forces and provided solid financial support for high-quality economic development.
Xinhua News Agency reports that data released by the PBC shows that by the end of the first quarter of 2026, 303,300 technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) had received loan support, with a loan availability rate of 50.4%, 0.2 percentage points higher than the end of last year. The balance of local and foreign currency loans to technology-based SMEs reached 4.03 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.9%, 1.1 percentage points higher than the end of last year.
The PBC’s Statistical Report on Financial Institutions’ Loan Directions indicates that financial support for sci-tech innovation enterprises has been strengthened since the beginning of this year. By the end of the first quarter, 294,600 high-tech enterprises had obtained loan support, with a loan availability rate of 58.6%, 1.3 percentage points higher than the end of last year. The balance of local and foreign currency loans to high-tech enterprises stood at 20.96 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.6%, 6.1 percentage points higher than the end of last year.
Wang Qing, chief macro analyst at Oriental Jincheng, said that the high growth of loans to technology-based SMEs and high-tech enterprises at the end of March shows that current monetary policy is working in coordination with fiscal policy to promote the transformation of new and old driving forces. He added that with the investment of 800 billion yuan in new policy-based financial instruments, part of the funds will be used to support manufacturing investment, which may drive a slight upward trend in manufacturing investment growth.
In addition to sci-tech loans, green loans continued to increase steadily in the first quarter. Xinhua News Agency notes that by the end of the first quarter, the balance of local and foreign currency green loans in China reached 48.1 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.6%, with an increase of 3.29 trillion yuan in the first quarter alone. The continuous growth of green loans has strongly supported China’s green and low-carbon transformation and ecological environmental protection.
Lin Yaheng, macro strategy analyst at Southern Fund, stated that the loan data in the first quarter reflects that China’s economic operation maintains a moderate recovery trend. At the policy level, more emphasis is placed on supporting demand through fiscal credit and guiding funds to flow to key areas such as sci-tech innovation and green development.
The steady growth of sci-tech and green loans fully demonstrates China’s efforts to optimize the credit structure and focus on supporting high-quality development. It not only provides strong financial guarantee for the development of sci-tech and green industries, but also lays a solid foundation for the sustained and healthy development of the national economy.
