Loan repayments top bank lending

Irish households last month funnelled over €500m more back into the banks than lending institutions gave to stimulate economic activity, according to the Central Bank.

Its monthly money and banking statistics reported a decline in lending on the banks’ balance sheets in July, driven by a fall in home lending on banks’ books in July.

“Households’ repayments of loans from credit institutions exceeded drawdowns by €513m during the month of July; this development was mainly driven by a decrease of €231m in loans for house purchase,” the report states .