In the first three weeks of April, the "Big Four" State-owned commercial banks extended loans worth 130 billion yuan, a slower pace than previous months, according to a report from China International Capital Corporation Ltd.

It said tougher measures to curb the real estate market were likely to drag down growth in property lending, and forecast new loans for April to stand at 800 billion yuan.

Some analysts said that the rise in non-performing loans in the first quarter has made banks more likely to extend loans rather than offer new loans in April.

Lian said new loans may rebound in May, and predicted they could total between 9 and 9.5 trillion yuan this year.

According to Chang, based on this year's lending pace mirroring that of 2012, with a quarterly distribution ratio of 3:3:2:2, the first quarter out-turn implies full-year new loans at 9.2 trillion yuan, while the 6.16 trillion yuan in total social financing from January and March would point to a total of 20 trillion yuan for the full year.

Shen Jianguang, an economist at Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd, said inflation risks seemed less worrying than slower economic growth, and that the monetary authorities do not need to tighten their stance.