TOTAL bank lending in Singapore rose 1.2 per cent last month from April, central bank data showed on Friday.

Loans and advances by domestic banking units in the city-state amounted to $528.8 billion last month, up from $522.3 billion in April. From a year earlier, May bank lending rose 18.8 per cent.

Loans and advances in Asian currency units (ACU) rose to $431.7 billion last month from $417.8 billion in April. The ACU market refers to loans denominated in currencies other than the Singapore dollar.