Banks extended 4.92 trillion yuan ($683.7 billion) in new yuan loans in January, hitting a record high, up sharply from December and beating analysts' expectations, data from the People's Bank of China (PBOC) showed on Friday.
In a Reuters poll of 35 market participants conducted last week, 19 or 54.3% had expected the central bank to cut the MLF rate to help shore up the weak economy.