China's 2012 new loans hit 8.2 trln yuan

China's new yuan-denominated lending reached 8.2 trillion yuan (1.3 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2012, up 732 billion yuan year on year, the People's Bank of China (PBOC), or the central bank, announced Thursday.

New loans denominated in foreign currencies amounted to 916.3 billion yuan in 2012, representing a year-on-year increase of 345.1 billion yuan, according to a statement on the PBOC's website.

The bank said that total social financing, a measure of funds raised by entities in the real economy, stood at 15.76 trillion yuan last year, up 2.93 trillion yuan from a year earlier.

In December, the country's social financing hit 1.63 trillion yuan, up 351.2 billion yuan from one year earlier, according to the statement.