RISING domestic demand has pushed retail credit in Shanghai to rise rapidly in the first three quarters, the local banking regulator said yesterday.

Bankcard-based consumption jumped 41 percent to 523 billion yuan (US$83 billion) in the first nine months in the city, the Shanghai Bureau of the China Banking Regulatory Commission said yesterday.

The local banking regulator attributed the rapid increase in retail credit in the period to an improving credit structure.

Banks extended 21 billion yuan of credit for personal consumption, a rise of 4.7 billion yuan from a year ago.

Green credit, or loans for energy-saving or emission-cutting projects, rose between January and September in Shanghai, the regulator said. Domestic banks in the city extended 26.5 billion yuan of green credit to solar, water, or wind projects in the first three quarters, up 7.3 billion yuan from a year ago.

The Industrial Bank has agreed to cooperate with the Shanghai Environment Energy Exchange in green credit.