KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30 — Broad money (M3) growth increased to 5.3 per cent in September, driven mainly by the extension of credit to the private sector, said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).
In a statement today, the central bank said the expansion, however, was partially offset by the decline in net foreign assets.
“Net financing to the private sector grew by 8.8 per cent in September compared to 9.2 per cent in August, driven by stable growth in net outstanding issuances of private debt securities amidst a moderation in the growth of banking system loans,” it said.
BNM said outstanding business loans grew at 11 per cent during the month against 11.5 per cent in August, with a larger volume of loans disbursed to businesses, particularly to the manufacturing; wholesale and retail trade; restaurants and hotels; construction and agriculture sectors.
Meanwhile, the annual growth of outstanding loans to households in September moderated to 8.1 per cent compared to 8.3 per cent in August, while overall loan demand was stable with a sustained level of loan applications during the month, it said.
BNM said the banking system remained well-capitalised with the Common Equity Tier 1 Capital Ratio, Tier 1 Capital Ratio and Total Capital Ratio at 12.1 per cent, 12.8 per cent and 14.8 per cent, respectively.
The level of net impaired loans was sustained at 1.2 per cent of net loans, with loan loss coverage ratio stable at 98.1 per cent.
The international reserves of BNM amounted to RM418 billion as at October 15, 2015, sufficient to finance 8.8 months of retained imports and were 1.2 times the short-term external debt.— Bernama
