The financial statistics report released by the People's Bank of China (hereinafter referred to as the "central bank") on February 13th showed that at the end of January, the balance of broad money (M2), the stock of social financing scale, and the balance of various RMB loans increased by 9%, 8.2%, and 6.1% year-on-year, respectively. Industry experts say that due to the influence of base factors and positive market conditions in the capital market, the M2 growth rate has hit the "9" mark, reaching a new high in recent years; In January, the incremental scale of social financing reached 7.22 trillion yuan, setting a new historical high in a single month. Behind this is that since the beginning of this year, fiscal and monetary policies have been taking the lead, and there has been a rebound in demand side factors such as investment and consumption. The growth rates of M2 and social financing have remained at a high level, and are higher than the nominal GDP growth rate, providing strong support for a stable start to the economy at the beginning of the year. The M2 balance increased by 9% year-on-year to 347.19 trillion yuan. In the eyes of many industry insiders, the M2 growth rate at the end of January was 0.5 percentage points higher than the previous month and 2.0 percentage points higher than the same period last year. On the one hand, there is a certain base effect. In January last year, M2 added about 5 trillion yuan, which is lower than the base of the same period in recent years; On the other hand, the high growth of M2 is closely related to the positive market conditions in the capital market since the beginning of 2026. Wang Qing, Chief Macro Analyst of Dongfang Jincheng, told reporters that against the backdrop of large-scale government bond issuances in January and a significant year-on-year increase in fiscal deposits at the end of the month, M2 growth continued to rise significantly. The direct reason behind this is similar to last month, that is, non bank deposits continued to increase significantly year-on-year - a decrease (equivalent to an increase) of 2.84 trillion yuan in December 2025 and an increase of 2.56 trillion yuan in January 2026. In addition, the M1 balance in January increased by 4.9% year-on-year, with a growth rate 1.1 percentage points higher than the previous month and 4.5 percentage points higher than the same period last year. The "scissors gap" between M2 and M1 narrowed to 4.1%, still at a relatively low level in recent years, indicating that the trend of funds being converted into demand deposits continues. Industry experts believe that the social financing stock increased by 8.2% year-on-year to 449.11 trillion yuan, which is 0.2 percentage points higher than the same period last year and remains at a high level. This fully reflects the moderately loose monetary policy and strongly supports the stable start of the economy at the beginning of the year. Specifically, the growth of government bonds is the main driving force behind social financing growth. According to data from the central bank, in January, the net financing of government bonds reached 976.4 billion yuan, an increase of 283.1 billion yuan year-on-year. The above industry experts said that the issuance scale of treasury bond, local government general bonds and special bonds has increased significantly. Wen Bin, Vice President of the China Private Economy Research Association and Chief Economist of Minsheng Bank, told reporters that structurally speaking, government bonds, corporate bonds, and undiscounted bank acceptance bills are the main drivers of the year-on-year increase. The increase in government bond financing in January accounted for 13.5% of all social financing, the highest level since the same period in 2021. At the beginning of 2026, a more proactive fiscal policy will be implemented to enhance efficiency, increase the issuance of local government bonds, and balance multiple goals of stabilizing growth, benefiting people's livelihoods, and preventing risks, demonstrating a positive trend of both quantity and quality. ”Wen Bin said that in January, the fundraising of local government bonds nationwide reached 863.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 54.84%. The issuance pace was significantly ahead of schedule and the structure continued to be optimized, providing strong financial support for a stable start to the economy throughout the year. Some industry insiders also indicate that in addition to government bonds, direct financing channels such as corporate bonds and equity financing are also accelerating their development. At present, the rapid transformation of new and old economic drivers, the rapid rise of high-tech industries and strategic emerging industries, requires diversified financing channels including equity and bond financing to provide full lifecycle financial support. The year-on-year increase of 6.1% in the balance of RMB loans reached 276.62 trillion yuan. January is a major month for bank credit investment, and the amount of credit investment in that month accounts for a considerable proportion of the bank's annual credit investment. As of January this year, some industry insiders believe that since the beginning of 2026, the financial system has increased its credit injection efforts, especially the central bank's reduction of structural monetary policy tool interest rates in January, which has stimulated banks' enthusiasm for credit injection in key areas; There are also multiple favorable conditions on the demand side that support stable credit growth. Wen Bin believes that January is the traditional credit month, and under the demand for "early investment and early returns", the early project reserves are released in a concentrated manner at the beginning of the year; Against the backdrop of the beginning of the 15th Five Year Plan, the intensive landing of major projects has driven an increase in project loans. In the first quarter of this year, the pace of loan approval in the infrastructure sector has significantly accelerated, and the amount of investment has achieved a significant year-on-year increase. In addition, the demand for payment of procurement funds, settlement of supply chain and project progress payments, and distribution of employee salaries and bonuses by enterprises before the Spring Festival has also been released in advance, all of which support the high credit increment in January. Industry insiders indicate that, driven by multiple factors such as policy coordination to expand domestic demand, banks increasing investment to stabilize returns, and increased financing demand before the Spring Festival, new credit will remain at a high level at the beginning of 2026. The growth rate of M2 broad money and social financing scale will also increase rapidly, fully reflecting the moderately loose monetary policy and providing strong support for a stable economic start at the beginning of the year. (New Society)