KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian households appear to be taking a more cautious approach to new borrowing, with loan applications and approvals falling sharply in August.
However, economists said the trend does not point to broad-based financial stress.
Universiti Teknologi Mara senior lecturer Dr Mohamad Idham Md Razak told Business Times that the moderation in household loan growth was relatively small.
However, the sharper drop in applications pointed to softer demand for new financing.
Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd (HLIB) said household loan growth eased marginally to 5.0 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in August from 5.1 per cent in July.
