Loans to Irish households and companies continued to decline in the year to May, new data from the Central Bank showed today.

Household lending fell by 4.5 per cent over the 12 months, following a similar decline in April. Lending for house purchases was 2.1 per cent lower over the year, with other loans falling by 11.5 per cent.

During the month, repayments of loans exceeded drawdowns by €507 million, mainly driven by a fall in loans for house purchase by €322 million.

Companies saw lending decline by 5.1 per cent over the year to May, with loans dropping by €613 million during the month.

Meanwhile, credit institutions’ holdings of private sector debt and equity securities fell by €299 million during the month and 18.3 per cent over the year.

Irish resident private-sector deposits climbed by 7.6 per cent in the month, maintaining a steady pace from April. But that was mainly lifted by deposits from financial institutions, pension funds and companies, with deposits from households falling by 0.3 per cent in the year.