Household deposits decreased by €212 million in May, following an increase of €1.2 billion in April, according to new figures from the Central Bank.
While household deposits increased by almost €7.4 billion over the last year, the annual growth rate of 5.4% has declined from the highs seen during the Covid-19 period.
Deposits from NFCs decreased by over €1 billion in May 2022, while their annual growth rate increased marginally over the month, to 9.8%.
The figures show that net lending to households decreased by €130 million in May 2022.
According to the Central Bank, the decline was primarily driven by decreases in loans for house purchase, where repayments exceeded new drawdowns by €115 million.
In annual terms, net mortgage lending remains positive, with new drawdowns exceeding repayments by €569 million over the 12 months.
The annual growth rate in loans for house purchase remained at 0.9% at the end of May, continuing the positive growth recorded since late 2017.
Meanwhile, consumer lending recorded a net increase of €25 million in May 2022.
Annual growth in consumer loans remains positive, increasing by €315 million or 2.8%, in the year to the end of May, unchanged from April.
