However, consumer loans increased 0.3% month-on-month to $256.18 billion in September, buoyed by share financing and housing loans.
Singapore bank lending fell for the seventh consecutive month in September due to weaker business loans, reported The Business Times (BT) citing preliminary data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Loans via the domestic banking unit – which captures lending in all currencies, but mainly reflects Singapore-dollar lending – came in at $677.46 billion in September, down from August’s $677.86 billion.
Loans to businesses dropped 0.3% to $421.28 billion in September from August’s $422.54 billion. Loans to financial institutions fell 1.9% to $99.83 billion – its second consecutive monthly decline, noted the BT report.
Building and construction emerged as the single-biggest business lending segment, with loans to the construction industry rising 0.7% to $150.91 billion in September.
Consumer loans increased 0.3% month-on-month to $256.18 billion in September, buoyed by share financing and housing loans.
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Housing loans, which accounted for three-quarters of consumer lending, rose 0.1% month-on-month to $199.09 billion in September.
Loans for share financing, on the other hand, climbed 6.9% to $1.87 billion, from August’s $1.75 billion.
On an annual basis, total bank lending declined 1% in September, with business loans and consumer loans contracting 0.2% and 2.5%, respectively, from a year ago.
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