By Francis Chan, Finance Correspondent

THE number of government-backed loan approvals fell last month for the first time since the enhanced schemes began in December, indicating that credit conditions may be easing with banks keen to chance their arm again.

Only 993 loans - worth about $568 million - were disbursed for the first three weeks of last month. This was a sharp fall from the figure in April, when more than 1,800 loans amounting to about $1.06 billion were approved, mostly to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Minister of State for Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan said the falling loan numbers may reflect a 'stabilisation' of the lending environment in Singapore following the Government's initiatives, but he did not rule out other factors behind the drop.

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