Hong Kong Monetary Authority Reports Stable Credit Conditions for SMEs in Q2 2024

The
Hong
Kong
Monetary
Authority
(HKMA)
has
released
the
findings
of
its
latest
survey
on
the
credit
conditions
for
Small
and
Medium-Sized
Enterprises
(SMEs)
for
the
second
quarter
of
2024.
The
survey
results,
published
on
August
1,
2024,
indicate
that
SMEs’
credit
conditions
have
remained
stable
over
the
reviewed
period.

Perceptions
of
Credit
Approval
Stance

According
to
the
survey,
73%
of
SMEs
perceived
banks’
credit
approval
stance
as
either
“similar”
or
“easier”
compared
to
six
months
ago,
a
slight
improvement
from
71%
in
the
previous
quarter.
Conversely,
27%
of
respondents
felt
the
credit
approval
stance
was
“more
difficult,”
a
decrease
from
29%
in
the
first
quarter
of
2024.
The
HKMA
noted
that
these
perceptions
might
not
necessarily
reflect
actual
difficulties
faced
by
SMEs
in
obtaining
bank
credit,
as
they
could
be
influenced
by
various
factors,
including
media
reports
and
business
conditions.

Existing
Credit
Lines
and
New
Credit
Applications

The
survey
also
revealed
changes
in
banks’
stance
on
existing
credit
lines.
Only
2%
of
respondents
with
existing
credit
lines
reported
a
“tighter”
stance
from
banks,
a
significant
drop
from
12%
in
the
previous
quarter.
The
term
“tighter”
in
this
context
includes
measures
such
as
reducing
credit
lines,
raising
interest
rates,
imposing
additional
collateral
requirements,
or
shortening
loan
tenors.

Regarding
new
credit
applications,
2%
of
SMEs
reported
applying
for
new
bank
credit
during
the
second
quarter
of
2024.
Among
those
who
had
received
responses
to
their
applications,
70%
reported
fully
or
partially
successful
outcomes,
down
from
86%
in
the
previous
quarter.
However,
the
HKMA
cautions
that
these
results
should
be
interpreted
carefully
due
to
the
small
sample
size
of
SMEs
applying
for
new
credit
and
those
with
existing
credit
lines.

About
the
Survey

The
HKMA
has
been
conducting
this
survey
quarterly
since
the
third
quarter
of
2016,
in
collaboration
with
the
Hong
Kong
Productivity
Council
(HKPC).
The
survey
covers
approximately
2,500
SMEs
from
various
economic
sectors
each
quarter.
It
aims
to
monitor
developments
in
SMEs’
access
to
bank
credit
from
a
demand-side
perspective.
The
HKMA
advises
that
the
results
should
be
interpreted
alongside
other
economic
and
financial
information
due
to
potential
fluctuations
caused
by
idiosyncratic
events
and
changes
in
sentiment
during
the
survey
period.

For
detailed
tables
and
technical
information,
refer
to
the
HKPC’s
website
at

https://www.hkpc.org/en/about-us/hkpc-publication/industry-insight/hkma-survey.

Source:

Hong
Kong
Monetary
Authority

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source:
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