Household loan repayments exceeded drawdowns by €608 million during February, according to new figures released by the Central Bank.

This follows revised net repayments by housesholds of some €548 million in January.

The Central Bank said the outstanding amount of loans to Irish households decreased by an annual 3.5 per cent last month, following a decrease of 3.2 per cent in January.

The outstanding amount of loans for house purchase, which account for 82 per cent of total household loans, declined at an annual rate of 2.6 per cent. Lending for consumption and other purposes was down by 6.8 per cent year-on-year.

In the case of loans for house purchase, repayments exceeded drawdowns by €2.1 billion in the 12 months to the end of February. Repayments also exceeded drawdowns by €1.4 billion for non-housing loans over the same period.

Non-financial corporation (NFC) loan repayments exceeded drawdowns by €447 million last month, following a €516 million decline in January.

Over the 12 months to the end of February, the net flow of NFC loans was minus €5.8 billion, the Central Bank said.

Household deposits grew by 0.5 per cent on an annual basis, with overnight deposits rising by 10.1 per cent and all other maturity categories showing year-on-year declines. NFC deposits increased by 16.8 per cent year-on-year. Overnight deposits are the main driver, which increased 20.9 per cent year-on-year.

Credit institution borrowings from the Central Bank increased by €145 million last month leaving the outstanding stock of borrowings at €19.2 billion.

Alan McQuaid, an economist with Merrion, said the new mortgage lending rules from the Central Bank are likely to further dampen demand/supply of credit further, suggesting that overall bank lending will remain subdued in 2015.