Singapore Resident Loans 2025: Loans to Singapore residents rose 6.1% in 2025, driven by a turnaround in manufacturing lending and pickup in consumer/h
By Sofia Martinez·March 10, 2026·5 min readOrionmano Industries
Loans to Singapore residents rose 6.1% in 2025, driven by a turnaround in manufacturing lending and pickup in consumer/housing loans.
The Macro Picture: Sustained Momentum in Resident Lending
Loans to Singapore-based nonbank residents expanded at an annualised rate of 6.1% in 2025, building on a recovery that began the previous year. According to the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), resident nonbank lending grew 5.2% in 2024 after contracting 2.4% in 2023, then accelerated to 6.8% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2025. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) reported that total bank lending to consumers and businesses expanded 6.2% in its 2025 Financial Stability Review, closely matching the headline figure. By March 2026, the broader total loans growth indicator stood at 6.24% year-on-year, per CEIC data, confirming that the upward trajectory has continued into early 2026.
Business Loans: From Trade-Led Recovery to Broad-Based Expansion
The recovery in business lending followed a distinct two-phase pattern. AMRO’s analysis shows that the initial upturn in 2024 was driven primarily by trade-related industries, as global trade flows stabilised and electronics demand—particularly linked to AI-related products—strengthened. Around mid-2024, the recovery broadened to include property-related sectors as business sentiment improved.
Momentum peaked at the turn of 2024/2025, softened through April 2025, then picked up again, largely driven by swings in lending to trade-related industries amid uncertainty around US tariff policy. By September 2025, Singapore’s total bank loans had reached a record SGD 863.8 billion, with business loans rising to SGD 524.0 billion from SGD 514.6 billion in August. Manufacturing lending registered a notable increase to SGD 26.8 billion from SGD 24.8 billion in the prior month. Building and construction loans hit SGD 181.2 billion, general commerce reached SGD 90.1 billion, and transport, storage and communication lending rose to SGD 44.2 billion.
MAS noted that resident credit growth was underpinned by lending to trade-related sectors, buoyed by front-loading of exports and strong global demand for electronics tied to AI. The financial stability body also observed that overall credit to non-bank entities expanded at a healthy pace, with leverage vulnerabilities remaining low amid strong capital buffers.
Household Loans: Housing and Bridging Loans Lead Steady Climb
Household loans climbed steadily throughout 2025, underpinned by strong demand for housing and bridging loans, partly due to lower interest rates. The 3-month Singapore Overnight Rate Average (SORA) fell from 3.59% in Q3 2024 to 1.72% in Q3 2025, a decline of 187 basis points. This monetary easing directly supported borrowing demand.
By September 2025, consumer loans totalled SGD 339.7 billion, up from SGD 337.1 billion in August. Housing and bridging loans—the largest component—stood at SGD 240.0 billion. Credit card loans reached SGD 17.0 billion, car loans SGD 8.9 billion, and other personal loans SGD 73.2 billion. MAS reported that borrowers across all income profiles who refinanced into lower-rate packages saw their mortgage servicing-to-income ratios fall, with the median mortgage rate for newly originated loans declining around 90 basis points since Q2 2024.
The credit quality of housing loans remained strong. The non-performing loan (NPL) ratio for housing loans stood at just 0.3% as of Q2 2025.
The banking sector remained resilient throughout 2025, supported by sound asset quality, strong capital buffers, ample liquidity and solid profitability. The overall NPL ratio declined for a fifth consecutive quarter to 1.2% in Q2 2025, with all major segments registering lower NPL ratios than a year earlier. The banking sector’s capital adequacy ratio stood at 18.2% in Q3 2025, with Tier 1 CAR at 16.7%, well above minimum regulatory requirements, according to AMRO.
MAS’s Financial Stability Review confirmed that liquidity and maturity risks stayed low in 2025, with banks maintaining healthy loan-to-deposit ratios. The overall banking sector financial vulnerability index remained benign.
Economic Context: Employment and Income Underpinnings
Total employment expanded by 72,600 in 2025, supported by gains in both resident and non-resident employment, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s Economic Survey of Singapore 2025. Employment growth was positive across all broad sectors, with services registering the largest gains, followed by construction and manufacturing. The annual average resident unemployment rate held steady at 2.8%. Real gross monthly income of full-time employed residents at the median grew at 1.6% per annum between 2020 and 2025, while the 20th percentile saw 2.8% per annum growth, supporting debt-servicing capacity.
Outlook: Trajectory Extends into 2026
As of March 2026, the total loans growth indicator reached 6.24%, a slight acceleration from February’s 5.39% and above the long-term average of 4.20% since 2005. Total loans to the private sector hit an all-time high of SGD 902.3 billion in March 2026. AMRO’s projections, cited by Trading Economics, indicate that loans to the private sector could trend toward SGD 960 billion in 2027 and SGD 1.0 trillion in 2028, contingent on trade policy developments and global demand conditions.
The key risk to watch remains the trajectory of US tariff policy, which drove volatility in trade-related lending during 2025. However, the broadening of the business loan recovery beyond trade into property and other sectors suggests underlying resilience.