Singapore records 3.29 pct growth in domestic bank lending for February

Singapore, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's total loans and advances including bills financing of Domestic Banking Units (DBU) grew 3.29 percent Year on Year in February, according to data released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Friday.

It marks the 29th straight month of positive growth of Singapore's domestic bank lending.

On a month-on-month basis, the total loans and advances of DBUs increased by 0.17 percent to a predicted 672.33 billion Singapore dollars (about 496.46 billion U.S. dollars) in February, compared to a 0.08 percent decrease for January.

This February, Singaporean DBU's loans to businesses grew 5.16 percent Year on Year and 0.41 percent month on month, to 407.38 billion Singapore dollars (300.72 billion U.S. dollars). DBU's consumer loans in February was 264.96 billion Singapore dollars (195.59 billion U.S. dollars), up 0.54 percent Year on Year but down 0.2 percent month on month.