Banks cut lending to private sector in favour of bills, bonds

Banks cut lending to the private sector in the first three months of the year, curtailing the government’s push to improve access to affordable credit in a bid to stimulate economic recovery.

An analysis of Q1 financial results shows that banks opted to splash billions on the government, with the top six banks in the country increasing investment into state securities by an average of 13 per cent,  declining yields notwithstanding.