Singapore bank lending flat in January

Bank lending in Singapore was flat in January from the previous month, reflecting weak growth in business and consumer lending, preliminary data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) showed on Monday.

Loans through the domestic banking unit - which essentially captures lending in all currencies but mainly reflects Singapore-dollar lending - stood at S$600 billion in January, the MAS figures showed. In December, bank lending had fallen 0.7 per cent.

Business loans in January stood at S$357 billion from December, largely unchanged from a month ago. In December, business lending fell 1.3 per cent.

Likewise, consumer lending was broadly unchanged, at S$243 billion. In December, it rose 0.2 per cent.

From a year ago, bank lending in January fell 1.2 per cent. This is a smaller contraction compared with the 1.3 per cent year-on-year fall posted in December.