Singapore bank lending falls for third straight month in May: MAS data

BANK lending in Singapore fell 0.6 per cent in May from a month ago on the back of broad weakness across all segments, preliminary data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore showed on Tuesday. 

Loans through the domestic banking unit - which captures lending in all currencies, but reflects mainly Singapore-dollar lending - stood at S$685.3 billion in May, compared with S$689.7 billion in April. This marks the third consecutive month of decline amid the Covid-19 fallout. On a year-on-year basis, total lending in May inched up 0.5 per cent.   

Total business loans dipped 0.7 per cent to S$430.6 billion in May from a month ago, mainly dragged down by loans to financial institutions which declined 2.2 per cent to S$103.5 billion, as well as loans to general commerce, which fell 2.7 per cent to S$65.6 billion. 

Total consumer loans continued to dive in May due to weakness across all segments, falling 0.5 per cent to S$254.7 billion from a month ago.