May 1, 2013 - 08:23

Lending to households falls further in March

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The latest Central Bank money and banking statistics show saving and repaying debt remained the dominant trends among Irish consumers in March.
The monthly figures show a decline of 4.1% in loans outstanding to Irish households over the 12 months to the end of March.
The amount of money repayed by Irish households over the first quarter of the year was €1.5 billion greater than the amount of new borrowing.
Irish resident "private sector deposits" as defined by the Central Bank meanwhile, were up 9.8% over the same period. In February the rate at which deposits were rising was 2.9%.

In a research note on the figures Alan McQuaid, economist with Merrion Stockbrokers said Ireland remains a "long way from where it wants to be" as regards both the demand for and supply of credit in the economy.
"As we have pointed out on numerous occasions recently, the lack of available credit will severely hamper the overall recovery prospects for the economy as a whole, and keep the unemployment rate higher than it would otherwise be," he said.