Singapore business loans in January up for 2nd month

Singapore

BUSINESS loans in Singapore picked up for the second straight month in January as the economy gradually recovers from Covid-19 this year.

On Monday, data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore showed that loans to businesses grew 0.9 per cent month on month to S$422.73 billion in January.

Loans to the single-largest business lending segment - building and construction - inched up 0.3 per cent to S$150.40 billion to reverse a 0.6 per cent contraction in December.

Over the same period, loans to financial institutions grew 2.4 per cent to S$103.82 billion, while loans to general commerce increased by 1.2 per cent to S$63.29 billion.

Loans to manufacturing rose 1 per cent to S$26.28 billion, while loans to the transport sector were up 1.7 per cent to S$25.64 billion.

Loans to others bucked the trend, down 2.6 per cent month on month to S$30.49 billion in January.

Overall, loans through the domestic banking unit - which captures lending in all currencies, but reflects mainly Singapore-dollar lending - climbed 0.7 per cent to S$683.59 billion in January, compared with S$678.72 billion in December. This marks the third straight month of loan growth in Singapore.

Consumer loans were up 0.5 per cent month on month to S$260.87 billion in January on the back of a steady rise in housing loans, which make up three quarters of consumer lending.

Housing loans extended their growth streak for the fifth consecutive month, up 0.4 per cent to S$202.14 billion.

Unsecured personal loans, excluding credit cards, climbed 1.6 per cent month on month to S$38.41 billion, while car loans ticked up 0.6 per cent to S$8.4 billion over the same period.

Credit card loans, however, slipped 1.4 per cent to S$10.16 billion while loans for share financing fell 1 per cent to S$1.76 billion.

Year on year, total bank lending in January was down 1.1 per cent.