SHANGHAI - China's commercial banks have issued 1.2 trillion yuan ($182.3 billion) of new loans in January, accounting for as much as 17 percent of the estimated full-year 2011 quota, China Business News said on Wednesday.

Citing unidentified sources, the paper said the total amount was based on loans issued up to January 24. It also cited an analyst as saying banks would likely implement tighter credit control over the next two months.

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China is expected to tighten its loan targets to between 7 trillion and 7.5 trillion yuan this year, after its banks issued 7.95 trillion yuan in new loans in 2010, which exceeded the 7.5 trillion yuan target set by the government.

Earlier newspaper reports said China's central bank and banking regulator were divided over how low to set the loan ceiling, with the People's Bank of China proposing an industry-wide loan quota of 900 billion yuan ($136.7 billion) for January and the China Banking Regulatory Commission preferring a target of 1 trillion to 1.2 trillion yuan.

High-speed money and credit growth has become a concern, helping propel Chinese consumer inflation to its fastest in more than two years. Determined to rein in rising prices, the government declared late last year that it would shift to a tighter monetary policy stance.