Monthly statistics from the Central Bank show that falls in the amount of money being lent in the economy set new records in June.
The Central Bank said net mortgage lending dropped by €62m in June, the third monthly fall in a row. This means that the amount repaid on existing mortgages was greater than the amount of new mortgage lending.
The annual rate of growth in mortgage lending fell to a record low of 1.9%. The Central Bank says mortgage debt has remained relatively stable since the start of the year, with an increase of €234m, compared with a €5.5 billion rise in the same period last year.
Total lending across the economy was down by €1.4 billion in June, leading to fall of 0.7% over the past 12 months. This was the first annual fall since the Central Bank began compiling the statistics. The bank said the drop was mainly due to write-downs of loans and increased provisions for bad debts.
