Georgia, Tbilisi, March 30 / Trend N.Kirtzkhalia /
The volume of lending by Georgian commercial banks (including loans to non-residents) in February, 2011, compared to the previous month, decreased by 101.6 million lari (1.6 percent) and constituted 6.2 billion lari by March 1, 2011, the National Bank of Georgia reported.
The volume of loans provided in the national currency increased by 4.8 million lari (0.3 percent), while the volume of loans in a foreign currency decreased by 106.3 million lari (2.3 percent).
The commercial banks issued to resident legal entities 611.6 million lari worth of national currency-denominated loans (0.5 percent or 2.9 million lari less compared to previous month) and 2.9 billion lari worth of loans in a foreign currency (2.8 percent or 83.1 million lari less, respectively).
Out of the total volume of lending to legal entities, the biggest share falls on trade - 52.1 percent. Compared with the January 2011, in February 2011 the volume of loans provided for trade decreased by 1.0 percent or 18.4 million lari and constituted 1.8 billion lari.
Share of loans provided to the industrial sector constituted 21.2 percent of all loans to legal entities and amounted to 752.1 million lari by March 1, 2011 (6.1 percent or 48.9 million lari less compared to the previous month). 10.5 percent fall on construction, amounting to 371.3 million lari (2.9 percent or 11.3 million lari less, respectively). Therefore, 83.7 percent of the total volume of lending to the legal entities falls only on three sectors - industry, construction and trade.
The volume of lending to resident individuals decreased by 0.8 percent or 19.9 million lari, during the February 2011, and remained at 2.4 billion lari level by March 1, 2011.