SINGAPORE: It’s the highest growth since October 2014. Loans from Singaporean banks accelerated 7.6% YoY in June, the highest YoY growth in two years since October 2014. According to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), total bank loans rose from $590.4b in 2016 to $635.5b this year. Business loans grew 10.5% YoY from $345.1b to $381.1b. Among the business loan categories, OCBC noted remarkably higher lending for financial institutions, business services, and general commerce. Lending for financial institutions climbed 32.0% from $67.7b to $89.5b, marking the tenth consecutive month of double-digit growth.
Lending for business services hiked 27.9% at $8.7b for June, the sixth month of double-digit growth. MAS also reported an increase in general commerce loans by 20.9% to $68.3b. However, loans from the manufacturing sector dragged by 1.9% from $27.3b to $26.8b. Meanwhile, consumer loans for the month also increased 3.7% from $245.3b to $254.4b. Under consumer loans, those for housing grew to 4.1%, whilst those for cars upped to 3.2%, marking the seventh straight month of expansion. According to OCBC Bank head of treasury research and strategy Selena Ling, “Looking ahead, the bank loans growth momentum should sustain in 2H17 to average 7.0% yoy for the full-year as per our forecast, given that domestic business sentiments have improved and the 2H16 base was low at +0.1% yoy.”
