Credit growth rose sharply in April but the Central Bank says this was due to extraordinary factors and that the trend was downward. Bank lending increased from 15.8 per cent to 19.2 per cent last month, largely due to an exceptional item caused by the restructuring of inter-company funding at the State's financial institutions. This resulted in an increase of almost €1.5 billion (£1.2 billion) in lending to companies not affiliated with banks during that month.

The annual growth rate of residential mortgage lending eased to 21.5 per cent in April from 22.3 per cent in March - the seventh consecutive monthly decline. The annual rate in April was the lowest since January 1999.