Singapore banks granted more loans to wholesalers and retailers in September, boosting overall bank lending last month.

Total bank loans rose 1.1 per cent to $546.6 billion in September from August, according to data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Thursday.

This was primarily driven by a 3.4 per cent month-on-month climb in loans for general commerce, the data showed. General commerce mainly includes wholesalers and retailers.

Loans to businesses rose at a faster pace than consumer loans. They grew 1.4 per cent month-on-month to $325.6 billion, while consumer loans inched up 0.6 per cent to $220.9 billion in September from the preceding month.

Consumer loans have been growing at below 1 per cent month-on-month since July, after tough curbs on home loans were introduced in late June.