Global lending remained weak in 2016’s first quarter, with dollar-denominated bank loans to non-U.S. borrowers worldwide falling for the first time since the 2007-09 financial crisis, the Bank for International Settlements said on Sunday.
Dollar loans to emerging markets and lending in euros to borrowers outside the euro zone also fell, signs that the stronger dollar, emerging market weakness and financial market uncertainty took a toll on the demand for credit.
The stock of dollar loans to non-U.S. borrowers around the world fell 0.7 percent from the same period a year ago, although a 4 percent increase in credit via bond markets lifted overall dollar-based credit to $7.9 trillion at the end of March.
The stock of dollar-denominated credit to emerging markets — a key measure of global liquidity conditions — fell to $3.2 trillion at the end of March, down $137 billion from a year earlier, the BIS said.
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