Business loans in August reverse bank lending slide

[SINGAPORE] Thanks to a rebound in business loans, bank lending in Singapore returned to growth in August, according to preliminary figures released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Tuesday.

Over the month, total domestic banking unit (DBU) loans rose by S$7.1 billion to S$604.6 billion. The 1.2 per cent increase marked the first growth in loans since May - borrowings had dipped ever so slightly by 0.1 per cent in July, after staying flat in June.

On a year-on-year basis, credit growth accelerated in August after slowing for eight consecutive months, increasing 11.8 per cent, compared to 10.8 per cent in July.