Mortgage lending hits lowest level in 18 months

THE combined value of residential mortgage lending fell by €71 million in July, the fourth consecutive month of decline, according to latest monthly credit statistics from the Central Bank.

That fall-off resulted in the growth in overall mortgage lending slowing to 1.2%, on a year-on-year basis, in July. In June, the annualised growth in lending to house buyers was measured at 1.9%.

The latest Central Bank figures also showed that total lending in the Irish economy fell by €3.7bn in July, on a rolling month-by-month basis to €383.9bn, which was the fifth month in a row where an overall decline was evident. That drop in lending, down by 2.2% for the month on a year-on-year basis, was attributed to a number of issues, including the write-down of loans and an increase in national bad debt provisions.