'Heavy indebtedness restrains credit growth'

Households have been the drivers of credit growth in previous years, pushing annual credit growth prior to the recession to 27 percent while taking up 60 percent of total bank loans.

However, banks tightened credit in 2009 following the onset of the global financial crisis and relaxed conditions only slightly last year on recoveries in market fundamentals. But inspite of the relaxation, households are taking up credit at a slower rate than seen in previous years, with analysts explaining that the high levels of indebtedness are restraining banks' ability to generate new business.