{
  "id": 5009826,
  "title": "Banks' loan growth remained steady, but household demand subdued in July",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/banks-loan-growth-remained-steady-but-household-demand-subdued-in-july",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-02T04:12:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/business/corporate/2026/09/1524082/banks-loan-growth-remained-steady-household-demand-subdued-july"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's banking sector loan growth remained steady in July, driven by a 7.5% year-on-year increase in business loans, according to Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd (HLIB). While business loan applications and approvals surged by 37.7% and 51.9% year-on-year respectively, household demand remained subdued with applications rising by just 1.7% and approvals falling 2.6% YoY. Disbursement growth strengthened to 7.6% YoY, but repayment growth moderated significantly to 6.0%. HLIB's asset quality remained resilient with gross impaired loans holding steady at 1.43% in July for the third consecutive month. Meanwhile, Public Investment Bank Bhd noted that the industry's average interest spread narrowed year-on-year but improved sequentially. The industry average interest spread has narrowed to 2.35% from 2.37% a year ago, driven by a lower average lending rate of 4.55% and 12-month fixed deposit rates of 2.20%. PublicInvest expects net interest margin to remain broadly stable as easing funding costs offset continued yield compression. HLIB maintained its Neutral recommendation pending a further review in its upcoming second-quarter calendar year 2026 report card.",
  "summary": "KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s banking sector loan growth remained steady in July, underpinned by stronger business lending that points to sustained momentum heading into the second half of 2026 (2H26).",
  "key_points": [
    "Business loan growth surged 37.7% and 51.9% YoY",
    "Household demand applications rose 1.7%, approvals fell 2.6%",
    "Asset quality remained resilient with gross impaired loans steady at 1.43%"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Steady loan growth driven by surging business loans masks subdued household demand, with banks likely to see stable net interest margins as lower funding costs offset weaker lending yields.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}