Singapore bank lending up 0.8% in April

BANK lending in Singapore rose 0.8 per cent in April from a month ago, preliminary data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore showed on Thursday.

Loans through the domestic banking unit - which captures lending in all currencies, but reflects mainly Singapore-dollar lending - stood at S$667 billion in April, up from S$662 billion a month ago.

That pace of growth is weaker than the 1.6 per cent increase seen in March compared to February, reflecting a slower growth in business loans. Business lending was up 1.2 per cent in April from a month ago to S$402 billion. This compared to 2.7 per cent in March from February.

Consumer lending gained by a slightly faster clip, at 0.3 per cent in April from a month ago to S$265 billion. In March, the month-on-month increase from February stood at 0.1 per cent.

From a year ago, bank lending rose 5.7 per cent. This is a shade stronger than the year-on-year increase of 5.4 per cent posted in March.