SINGAPORE - Monthly bank loans disbursed by lenders here fell for the first time in nearly five years in July as a dip in business lending dragged the numbers down.

Preliminary statistics released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Friday showed banks loaned out a total of $597.4 billion last month.

That marks a dip of 0.05 per cent compared with the previous month, when $597.7 billion worth of loans were disbursed.

It also represents the first month-on-month decline since October 2009.

A fall in business lending led to the drop. Loans to businesses came in at $366.3 billion last month, down 0.3 per cent from the previous month's $367.3 billion.

But consumer loans continued to grow, rising 0.3 per cent to $231.1 billion.