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Credit card loans clocked sharpest fall on record in April amid Singapore’s ‘circuit breaker’
CONSUMER loans in Singapore continued to dive in April, with credit card loans clocking their steepest fall as the Republic’s “circuit breaker” took effect on April 7, keeping people at home and most retail outlets shut.
Credit card loans fell 9 per cent to S$9.65 billion from March – the biggest decline on record.
This comes as total bank lending contracted again in April amid the Covid-19 pandemic, with both business and consumer loans falling from the month before, going by fresh data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore on Friday.
Consumer loans fell 0.9 per cent from the month before to S$255.89 billion in April – slightly better than the 1.4 per cent contraction in March, which marked the sharpest fall on record.
Consumer loans were dragged down by weakness across all segments.
Unsecured personal loans – excluding credit cards – also contributed to the fall, down 2.8 per cent to S$35.79 billion. This would reflect borrowings for education and renovation purposes, among others.
Car loans fell further in April, dipping 1.3 per cent to S$8.69 billion from March, while share financing dropped 1.6 per cent to S$1.7 billion.
Housing and bridging loans, which make up the bulk of consumer loans, ticked down by 0.1 per cent to S$200.06 billion from March.
As a result, total bank lending in April fell 0.4 per cent to S$689.65 billion from the month before. On a year-on-year basis, total loans rose 2 per cent.
Business loans also went down a notch in April after two months of growth, dipping 0.1 per cent to S$433.76 billion.
This was primarily weighed down by a fall in loans to financial institutions, which dropped 1.9 per cent to S$105.9 billion, as well as loans to general commerce, which fell 3.4 per cent to S$67.43 billion. On the other hand, loans to building and construction; transport, storage and communication; and business services rose.
Source: https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/credit-card-loans-clocked-sharpest-fall-on-record-in-april-amid-singapores-circuit