The Chinese central bank said Wednesday that new yuan loans grew more than expected in November, as its leaders met in Beijing to discuss policies, including growth targets, for next year.

Chinese banks extended 624.6 billion yuan ($103 billion) of new yuan loans in November, almost 24 percent higher than the 506.1 billion lent in October.

The figure topped both the 550 billion yuan median forecast in a poll of 11 economists by The Wall Street Journal and the 580 billion yuan median estimate of 41 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.