Reliance on ECB loans falls €1bn

Irish banks reduced their dependance on ECB loans by over €1.1bn in December, according to the monthly credit statistics from the Central Bank.

December saw a further decline in household lending levels, although a slight annualised improvement was evident when compared with the previous month.

The credit statistics, published yesterday by the Central Bank, show bank lending to householders fell by 3.8% in December 2011 compared to a year earlier.