Singapore bank loans growth slowed to 0.5% in August: MAS

The Monetary Authority of Singapore. ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG

SINGAPORE - Singapore's bank lending growth slowed in August, as both business and consumer loans moderated, preliminary data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) showed on Wednesday (Sept 30).

Year-on-year, total bank loans rose 1.5 per cent in August down from the 2.2 per cent gain in July.

Business loans growth decelerated to 0.2 per cent year-on-year from 1.1 per cent the previous month as general commerce and manufacturing loans contracted further. Building/construction and transport/storage loan momentum also eased.

Compared to July, loans to most business industries still saw modest growth with the exception of manufacturing and business services.

Consumer loans also slowed slightly from to 3.4 per cent year-on-year in August from 3.9 per cent in July as growth in housing and bridging loans slowed to 4.9 per cent year-on-year from 5.2 per cent in July.

Ms Selena Ling, head of treasury research & strategy at OCBC Bank noted that the average loans growth for the first eight months of 2015 stands at 1.9 per cent.

Said Ms Ling: "Given the sluggish growth momentum seen in the third quarter, there is little impetus for credit growth to expand strongly for the remaining months of this year, albeit the base in the forut quarter of 2014 is slightly less challenging."

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.