Bank lending dipped by 0.2 per cent last month compared with the month before on a drop in loans to businesses, according to flash data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) yesterday.

Total borrowing last month crept down to $691.15 billion from the $692.4 billion in December last year, the data showed. Compared with a year ago, though, lending was 3 per cent higher.

Month on month, total loans to businesses declined 0.3 per cent to $428.35 billion. This was mostly due to the drop in lending to financial institutions.

Total consumer loans inched up to $262.81 billion from $262.79 billion in December on a rise in housing loans, which account for three-quarters of consumer lending. Housing loans inched up 0.04 per cent to $200.83 billion. Other types of consumer loans such as car, credit cards and share financing went down.

MAS figures for loans through domestic banks capture lending in all currencies, but reflect mainly Singapore-dollar lending.