Growth in bank lending in Singapore eases again to 0.5% in August: MAS

BANK lending in August rose from July at a weaker pace compared to a month ago, dragged by flat growth in consumer lending, preliminary data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) showed on Wednesday.

Loans through the domestic banking unit - which essentially captures lending in all currencies but mainly reflects Singapore-dollar lending - stood at S$613 billion in August, up 0.5 per cent from July, the figures showed.

In July, bank lending stood at S$610 billion, up 0.6 per cent from the month earlier.

Business loans rose by 0.8 per cent in August from a month ago to S$373 billion. This was a shade stronger than the 0.6 per cent growth seen in July.

Growth in consumer lending was flat, at S$240 billion in August compared to a month ago. In July, it grew 0.6 per cent.

From a year ago, bank lending in August was up 1.5 per cent, weaker than the 2.2 per cent year-on-year gain posted in July.