Banks hold €10.1bn more household deposits than loans in April

Irish households continued to be net funders of the Irish banking system in April as banks held €10.1 billion more household deposits than loans at the end of the month.

According to the Central Bank’s monthly money and banking statistics, drawdowns of consumer loans exceeded repayments by €158 million in April, the largest monthly increase since January 2011.

Non-housing loans increased by 1.5 per cent in the year to the end of April, which represented six consecutive months of growth, according to the bank.

Declined

In terms of business lending, net lending declined by €1.7 billion, or 3.8 per cent, in the year to the end of April. However, there was a €356 million increase in net business lending in April compared to the previous month.

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Business deposits increased by €1.1 billion in April, compared to a decrease of €892 million reported in March.

The bank suggests that private sector lending was the “main driver of net lending to Irish residents since early 2014 and accounted for 74 per cent of banks’ loan books in April.

Irish bank borrowings from the Central Bank as part of eurosystem monetary policy operations decreased by €170 million in April.