The annual rate of change in overall private sector credit declined further in September falling by 3.4 per cent, according to the latest monthly figures from the Central Bank.
Private sector credit fell by €4.4 billion to €378.1 billion during the month, following declines of €3.4 billion in July and €1.5 billion in August.
The latest decline was largely attibuted to valuation effects such as loan writedowns, increased provisions for bad debts and exchange rate movements.
Residential mortgage lending declined by €14 million in September, the sixth consecutive month of decline. For the year-to-date, mortgage lending was down to 0.3 per cent during the month from 0.8 per cent in August.
Personal credit card debt rose slightly during September but remains unchanged on an annual basis.
The Central Bank said September is only the second month this year in which new spending on credit cards exceeded payments. However, it added that spending fell 14.8 per cent when compared to the same month a year earler.
Residential mortgages, which account for 85 per cent of household lending from financial institutions, was down €14 million during September with the stock of mortgages outstanding at €147.9 billion.
The annual rate of change in mortgage lending is now down to just 0.3 per cent, according to the latest figures.
Meanwhile, lending to the non-financial corporate sector remained unchanged compared to August.
