Irish Money and Banking Statistics: February 2018

3rd April 2018

Ireland’s Central Bank has released its latest money and banking statistics for February 2018. The loan-to-deposit ratio for households stood at 0.90 in February, equalling the previous series low, with household deposits exceeding household loans by 10.2 billion. The decrease in this ratio in recent years has occurred due to deposits reaching near series highs, while loans have fallen significantly from peak levels seen in 2008. The statistics includes:

Developments in Household credit and deposits

  • Loans to households, adjusted for loan sales and securitisations, declined by 1.6 per cent in annual terms to end-February.
  • Mortgage loans, which account for 83 per cent of total  on-balance sheet loans, decreased by €148 million in February (Chart 1). In year-on-year terms, net mortgage lending rose by €121 million or 0.2 per cent, the fourth consecutive month of annual growth.
  • Non-housing loans increased by 1.2 per cent in annual terms to end-February. Lending for consumption purposes grew by 3.1 per cent, with drawdowns exceeding repayments by €379 million in the year to end-February. Loans for other purposes continued to decline, falling by €197 million or 7.9 per cent over the year.
  • Medium-term lending drove the growth in consumer lending with loans for between one and five years rising by 8.5 per cent in the year to end-February. Lending for both less than one year and greater than five years continued to decline on an annual basis, falling by 1.7 and 5.5 per cent, respectively.
  • Deposits from households increased in net terms by     €275 million in February. Annually, household deposit lodgements were €3.3 billion higher than withdrawals, resulting in growth of 3.4 per cent. (Chart 2).
  • Developments in loans and deposits mean that Irish households continued to be net funders of the Irish banking system. Banks held €10.2 billion more in household deposits than loans at end-February (Chart 3). The loan-to-deposit ratio stood at 0.9, matching the lowest level since this series began.