Singapore bank lending up again in Dec on growth in home loans
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Bank lending rose for the second straight month in December on continued growth in housing loans.
Loans through domestic banks - which capture lending in all currencies but reflect mainly Singapore-dollar lending - climbed 0.3 per cent to $678.72 billion last month compared with $676.67 billion in November.
Consumer loans were up 0.5 per cent month on month to $259.62 billion last month, mainly driven by a steady uptick in mortgages for the fourth straight month to $201.36 billion, Monetary Authority of Singapore data showed yesterday.
This comes on the back of rising private home prices. Urban Redevelopment Authority figures showed that prices of new private homes rose 2.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year from the previous three months, marking their steepest quarterly increase in over two years.
The price index for last year was up 2.2 per cent, slightly slower than the 2.7 per cent lift in 2019.
Loans to businesses also rose last month, up 0.2 per cent month on month to $419.12 billion.
Total bank lending last month declined 2 per cent year on year.
THE BUSINESS TIMES
