BEIJING, Sept. 19 -- Chinese bankers saw a key index reflecting total loan demand drop to its lowest level in 13 quarters, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said on Friday.

Based on a survey of 3,100 bankers, the PBOC, China's central bank, put the country's total loan demand index at 66.6 percent for the third quarter, down 4.9 percentage points from the previous quarter.

The indices for loan demand from the manufacturing and service sectors both eased to their weakest levels in two years, according to the PBOC survey.

However, the bankers' confidence index for the third quarter stood at 59.1 percent, improving 5.4 percentage points from the previous quarter.

Among 3,100 bankers, 56.1 percent said the current macro economy is "normal," up 5.2 percentage points from previous quarter, while 42.8 percent considered it "relatively cool," down 4.6 percentage points from previous quarter.

The climate index for the banking sector dipped 0.7 percentage points to 72.4 percent, while the banking profitability index eased to 75.6 percent, down 1.3 percentage points from the previous quarter, according to the survey.