Irish lending levels remain subdued

LENDING levels to Irish businesses and households alike remained subdued during the last three months of 2010, driven mainly by a general reduction in credit demand.

The latest quarterly Bank Lending Survey (BLS) — from the European Central Bank (ECB) — shows that credit standards, as a whole, have tightened across the eurozone since the beginning of October.

However, as expected, the fourth quarter of last year saw a significant increase in loan demand from both companies and private households in the mainland European countries that have the euro as their currency.