Chinese commercial banks issued 1.2 trillion yuan worth of new loans up to Jan. 24, which is approaching last January's level in spite of efforts by banking regulators to curb market liquidity, China Business News reported.

If China intends to tighten its loan targets between 7 trillion and 7.5 trillion yuan this year, January alone will account for 16%-17% of the year's target.

Last January, Chinese financial institutions extended 1.4 trillion in loans, and 2.6 trillion in Q1, which accounted for 32 percent of the total 7.9 trillion loaned for the year.

China's business press carried the story above on Wednesday. China.org.cn has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.