Irish borrowers appear to be undeterred by the prospect of higher interest rates and stabilising house prices as mortgage credit rose again in July.
Monthly statistics released today by the Central Bank show the underlying annual rate of growth in mortgage credit edged up from 27.3 per cent in June to 27.7 per cent in July.
Non-mortgage credit also maintained an upward momentum with an annual growth rate of 21.5 per cent, compared with 20.7 per cent in June.
Headline credit growth in July was distorted by the relocation of some €2 billion of mortgage credit to an Irish credit institution, which had been formerly recorded as an asset of the parent institution abroad.
But when adjusting for this transfer, the established trend of credit growth persisted, with a strengthening in the underlying rate to 25.4 per cent in July from 24.8 per cent in the previous month.
Total lending by credit institutions to Irish residents - including the €2 billion mortgage credit adjustment - increased by over €5.6 billion, or 3.2 per cent, to €183 billion in July.
