Central Bank figures show that lending growth in the economy slowed to an annual rate of 25.9% in December, compared with 27.9% in November. Total lending in the economy grew by €59 billion in 2006 as a whole.
The bank says that while it would be tempting to link the slowdown in growth to higher interest rates, a big part related to securitisations, under which residential mortgages are removed from financial institutions' books.
The Central Bank says that if these are excluded, the growth rate would be little changed from last year.
Non-mortgage credit growth was 31.7% in December, driven by strong lending in the property and construction sectors.
The Central Bank also pointed to an increase in credit card debt over the last six months. New spending in December was €1.2 billion, 15.8% higher than a year earlier, while indebtedness was up 18.8%.
The rate of growth in residential mortgage lending in December was 25.5%, with a €2.1 billion increase in the month alone.
