BEIJING — China’s banks issued a combined amount of 1.1 trillion yuan (about $160 billion) in new yuan loans in April, the central bank said on May 12.

April’s new yuan loan growth represented an increase of 542.2 billion yuan year on year, according to data from the People’s Bank of China.

By the end of last month, total outstanding yuan-denominated loans stood at 111.9 trillion yuan, up 12.9 percent year on year.