The latest figures from the Central Bank show that lending to consumers continued to fall sharply last month. The figures also show a continuing drop in deposits.
Lending to consumers fell by 5.1% in the year to March, unchanged from the February figure. Mortgage lending was down 2.6% in March, while lending for other purposes fell by 13.4%.
Lending to businesses showed a 1.4% annual fall, compared with a 1.6% drop in February.
This contrasts with figures from the European Central Bank, which show that in the euro area as a whole lending to consumers increased.
The figures also show that the drop in private sector deposits - which includes deposits from households, businesses, financial institutions and pension funds - continued to accelerate last month. There was an annual fall of 10.1% in deposits in March, compared with a drop of 9.8% in February.
Household deposits were down by 6.1% while corporate deposits fell by 14.2%. There was an underlying decline of €2 billion in Irish private sector deposits in March. Deposits have dropped by almost €14 billion in the last six months.
Bank borrowing from the Irish Central Bank fell by €5 billion last month to stand at €111 billion. Domestic banks accounted for €82.8 billion of this, down €5.9 billion during the month.
