Private sector credit continues decline

THE amount of private sector credit continued to decline in September, with a dip of 3.4%, reflecting the continuing slump in the Irish economy and tight credit conditions as banks continue to shore up their balance sheets.

The fall in lending to Ireland’s private sector accelerated in September as banks wrote down loans and increased provisions for bad debts in worsening economic conditions, the Central Bank said yesterday.

This is the fourth successive month of falling credit figures in the current cycle with the first dip of 0.8% recorded in June 2009.