Singapore bank lending up 0.6% in November: MAS

BANK lending in Singapore rose 0.6 per cent in November from the previous month, preliminary data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore on Friday showed.

This was weaker when compared with the 1.4 per cent monthy-on-month gain in October. Loans through the domestic banking unit - which captures lending in all currencies but mainly reflects Singapore-dollar lending - stood at S$654 billion in November, up from S$650 billion in October.

Business loan rose by 0.5 per cent to S$393 billion in November, as compared to the 1.9 per cent increase enjoyed in October from a month ago.

Consumer loans grew 0.9 per cent to S$261 billion, a shade stronger than the 0.6 per cent gain in October.

From a year ago, bank lending in November was up 7.1 per cent. This was stronger compared with the 6.8 per cent year-on-year growth in October.