House lending to stay subdued

Lending levels to households are expected to remain stagnant for the rest of 2015 and stay below what is needed to stimulate economic growth for some time.

Figures from the Central Bank published yesterday show a 3.5% annualised decline in bank lending to households in February slightly up from January’s year-on-year decline of 3.2%.

Furthermore, the latest statistics show household loan repayments exceeded drawdowns by nearly €610m in the month.