Chinese yuan-denominated deposits held by Taiwanese banks fell in July, the first time since the island began allowing the service in February 2013.
According to the latest figures compiled by the island's financial agency, the balance of yuan deposits received by local banks' domestic banking offshore units (DBUs) and offshore banking units (OBUs) as of the end of July fell 1.57 billion yuan (about 245 million U.S. dollars) from a month earlier to 336.65 billion yuan.
Recent interest rate cuts by the People's Bank of China and caution among investors in Taiwan are the major causes of the decline, analysts with the agency said.
Figures showed that yuan-denominated lending and loans by the end of July reached 28.09 billion yuan, up 60 million yuan, or 0.21 percent from a month earlier. Yuan-denominated remittances fell to 265.3 billion yuan, a 10.83-percent decrease compared with June.
Also in July, RMB settlements of Taiwanese banks handled by the Bank of China's Taipei office totaled 435.6 billion yuan, an increase of 3.7 billion yuan month on month.
