The demand for credit has stabilised for the third successive month with new figures from the Central Bank reporting a 16 per cent rise in March, broadly unchanged from the previous two months.

The monthly private sector credit data indicated that total credit increased by €2 billion in March, of which €900 million was residential mortgages.

A further €650 million came from lending to companies based at the International Financial Services Centre, while the rise in credit to other sectors of the economy was described as modest. Overdrafts rose by €450 million.

This equated to a rate of growth in credit of 16 per cent in March, compared with 15.9 per cent in February and 16.1 per cent in January.

The growth in residential mortgages, when adjusted for securitisation, was 23.6 per cent in March, marginally down from 23.8 per cent in February.

The Central Bank said that the growth rate for the remainder of the credit facilities advanced in the Irish economy expanded by 10.2 per cent, marginally ahead of 10 per cent in February.

Total lending by Irish credit institutions to non-government Irish residents rose by €2.1 billion to €145.3 billion in March. The largest contribution came from loans up to and including one year, which rose by €1.2 billion.

The bank has also noted a significant increase in the number of term and revolving loans and residential mortgages.

According to the Central Bank, the amount of money held in current accounts rose by €340 million, while redeemable deposits that require notice of up to three months increased by €165 million.

These increases were broadly offset by a decline of almost €390 million in deposits, with an agreed maturity of up to two years, together with a fall of €155 million in repurchase agreements.

The amount of money held in special savings incentive accounts (SSIAs) rose by €140 million to €1.93 billion.