KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — Net financing growth improved to 3.9 per cent in September from 3.6 per cent in August as the growth in both outstanding loans and outstanding corporate bonds increased, said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) today.

In its monthly highlights for September 2021, the central bank said outstanding household loan growth continued to moderate at 3.2 per cent versus 3.4 per cent in the previous month.

"Nonetheless, higher loan disbursement and repayment levels were observed across all purposes,” it said.

BNM said banks have continued to facilitate repayment assistance for viable borrowers facing temporary financial difficulties.

It added that the banks have also continued to set aside additional provisions against potential credit losses, which currently stand at 1.9 per cent of the total banking system loans.

As for businesses, BNM said outstanding loans grew by 2.3 per cent in September 2021 versus 0.8 per cent in August 2021, driven by stronger growth in working capital loans.

It said the banking system continued to maintain healthy liquidity buffers with the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) remaining strong in September 2021, adding that banks’ funding profile remained stable amidst the strong growth in business and retail deposits. — Bernama