Large-scale capital inflows have placed upward pressure on Chinese credit growth, China’s central bank has said in its first hint of displeasure at a big rise in lending in recent months.

In an unusual move, the People’s Bank of China published a lengthy question-and-answer statement on Wednesday after three consecutive months of heavy credit issuance by Chinese banks and other financial institutions.

The relatively loose monetary conditions came as a surprise to many investors and analysts after a cash squeeze engineered by the central bank at the end of June had been interpreted as a sign that it wanted to slow the flow of money in China.