China's Big Four banks issued 294.6 billion yuan ($467 billion) of new yuan-denominated loans in March, above the credit limit of 269 billion yuan set by the central bank, the 21st century Business Herald reported Friday, citing an unnamed source.

During the same month, the Big Four banks - namely Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of China and the Agricultural Bank of China – gained 2.25 trillion yuan in yuan-denominated deposits, much higher than the 670 billion yuan they gained in February.

China's banking sector may have lent 770 billion yuan to 840 billion yuan in yuan-denominated loans during March, higher than the anticipated 700 billion yuan to 800 billion yuan, China International Capital Corporation Limited (CICC), an investment bank, predicted. The Big Four banks' newly-added yuan-denominated loans account for 35 percent to 38 percent of all new yuan-denominated loans.

New loans in March may lift the amount of lending by the banking sector in the first quarter of this year to 2.25 trillion yuan, close to 2.24 trillion yuan in the first quarter of 2011.

A local debt extension plan and the timing at the end of the quarter may explain the higher-than-expectated data, said the source cited by the 21st Century Business Herald. China's Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) issued a detailed extension plan in March. 　　　

Fiscal deposits are the main reason why deposits ballooned in March, the source added.