The latest figures from the Central Bank show that the amount of money being lent in the economy continued to fall in March, with the drop in lending to businesses accelerating.
The Central Bank said that lending for home mortgages fell by €717m in the month. This means that the amount being re-paid on existing mortgages was more than the amount given out in new mortgages. Total mortgage lending fell by 1.4% in the year to March.
Lending to businesses was down 4.6% from a year earlier, compared with an annual drop of 3.7% in February.
Total lending in the economy fell by €4.4 billion during February, bringing the annual rate of decline to 9.3%.
Repayments on credit cards in March were around €71m higher than new spending on cards. Total lending to households fell by 2.6% in the year to March.
The Central Bank said the figures given for lending to businesses and households in March were adjusted to exclude the impact of loans transferred by the banks to NAMA.
