The latest figures from the Central Bank show that the amount of money being lent to businesses continued to fall in April, but at a much slower rate than in previous months.
The bank said the underlying monthly fall in business lending in the month was just €109m, well down from the €1.3 billion drop in March. This means that the amount of money being repaid by firms was greater than the amount of new money being lent.
The bank said lending to businesses dropped by 4.5% compared with the April last year, little changed from the 4.6% annual fall recorded in March.
Residential mortgage lending declined by almost €350m during April, meaning it has fallen by 1.6% over the year.
Total lending to households fell at an annual rate of 1.8%. broadly in line with falls in the previous two months. Consumers paid back €11m more on credit cards than they spent in April, a much smaller amount than the €71m in March.
