Bank loan growth crashed to 5-year low in March

Business loans were the biggest drag.

Local bank loan growth eased further from 3.3% in February to 2.3% in March, the slowest pace of growth since November 2009.

According to OCBC, business loans slowed to a mere 0.8% in March from 2.3% in February, the slowest pace of growth since April 2010.

Business loans were dragged down by manufacturing, which registered its fourth straight month of negative growth at -8.3%. General commerce loan growth also entered its third consecutive month of contraction with a -10.2% growth in March.

Consumer loans also slowed from 4.7% to 4.6%, the lowest since April 2007. albeit at a more modest pace Housing and bridging loans stabilized at 6.1% for the second straight month, but this is still the lowest since May 2007.