Singapore March bank loans hit strong pace on trade, oil sector, home loans

Singapore

BANK lending in Singapore surged in March from a year ago at the strongest pace since November 2014, led by stronger business lending that reflects gains in trade loans, loans to oil-related companies, as well as in mortgages.

Bank lending gained 6.3 per cent to S$628 billion last month, albeit following several months of contraction in most of 2016, preliminary data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore on Friday showed.

This compared with the 5.2 per cent gain in February from a year ago. These refer to loans through the domestic banking unit - which capture lendin…