Loans by banks and other credit institutions to Irish households declined again in October, while deposits continued to flow back into the system.

The Central Bank’s latest money and banking statistics showed lending to households declined by €514 million in October, following a monthly decrease of €88 million in September.

The rate of decline, however, remained unchanged in October at 3.7 per cent, the same rate recorded in both September and August.

Lending for house purchases was 1.9 per cent lower on an annual basis in October, while lending for consumption and other purposes fell by 8.6 per cent over the same period.

The figures showed private sector deposits rose at an annual rate of 2.4 per cent in October, up from the 1.8 per cent recorded in September. Deposits from households were 0.4 per cent higher on an annual basis at the end of October.

There was a month-on-month increase of €1.5 billion in Irish resident private-sector deposits during October. The figures also indicated the reliance of Irish commercial banks on European Central Bank (ECB) funding rose to €72.1 billion in October, up from €70.4 billion at the end of September, the bank said.

The bank’s dependence on Government-guaranteed bonds to generate collateral for ECB funding increased to €8 billion in October.