Overall bank lending slips to $596.2b in February

Business loans contracted again.

Bank lending in Singapore dropped to $596.2 billion in February, latest statistics from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) show.

This compares with $600.2 billion in January and $603.5 billion in February last year.

Total business loans dropped to $353.9 billion, compared to $357.3 billion in January and $366.4 billion a year ago.

The drop in business loans was broad-based. Lending to most sectors either faltered or stayed mostly flat on a month-on-month basis, with the exception lending to financial institutions, which rose to $73.2 billion from $72.4 billion.

Meanwhile, consumer loans declined to $242.2 billion, compared to $242.8 billion in January and $237.1 billion in February 2015.