Bank loans skid for fourth straight month in June

Total loans fell 1% YoY, the first since 2016.

Singapore bank lending slumped 0.7% to $680.36b in June, marking its fourth consecutive month of decline, according to data by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Total loans fell 1% YoY, the first since 2016. Business loans skidded 1.1% to $425.8b due to paltry loans to sectors such as transport, communications, general commerce, finance, and storage.

The transport, storage and communication segment recorded the largest decline at 8.6% to $26.88b. General commerce loans fell to $$64.6b from $65.6b in May, with loans to financial institutions also plunging to $102.24b.

Consumer loans dove down slightly to $254.5b from $254.6 in May. With the exception of credit loans and other professional and private loans, all consumer loan segments registered declines. Share financing posted the biggest drop at 7.6% to $1.6b, followed by car loans which fell 2% to $8.316b. Housing and bridging loans slipped 0.1% to $199.5b.

On the brighter side, the manufacturing, building and construction, and business services segments all displayed uptick in loans. Business services posted a 1.2% leap in loans to $11.42b, manufacturing loans rose 1.1% to $29.1b, and building and construction loans gained 1% to $148b.

Credit cards loans went up 2.9% to $9.45 billion, the first recorded hike since January. Unsecured personal loans also hiked up to $35.6b.