Singapore: Singapore bank lending grows at faster pace, up 1.1% in December over November

• Jan 31, 2017

SINGAPORE – Bank lending in Singapore rose 1.1 per cent in December from a month ago, at a faster pace than the 0.4 per cent growth seen in November, as both business and consumer loans grew.

Loans through the domestic banking unit – which captures lending in all currencies but mainly reflects Singapore-dollar lending – stood at S$617.35 billion in December, up from S$610.62 billion in November.

The stronger performance was led by a 1.1 per cent month on month growth in business loans to S$367.01 billion, which expanded in every segment except for lending to individuals, preliminary data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore on Monday (Jan 31) showed.

Loans to manufacturers rose the the most – 3.7 per cent over November to S$26.23 billion. Loans to the building & construction industry grew 1.6 per cent to S$121.39 billion. Lending also rose 1 per cent to S$80.31 billion for the finance industry, 0.9 per cent to S$64 billion for the general commerce industry and 2.5 per cent to S$21 billion for the transport, storage & communication industry,

Consumer loans grew 0.3 per cent month on month to S$250.34 billion, mostly due to a 0.5 per cent rise in housing and bridging loans to S$191.2 billion.

From a year ago, bank lending in December was up 2.8 per cent compared to S$599.76 billion in December 2015.

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-bank-lending-grows-at-faster-pace-up-11-in-december-over-november