Performance and Growth FINANCIAL MARKET ACTIVITY Lending Activity in the Domestic Market Domestic lending activity of commercial banks, particularly interbank lending, saw vigorous growth in 2004 and early 2005, buoyed by a robust Singapore economy (See Chart 3). Growth in non-bank lending was supported by lending to the household and general commerce sectors. As a result, total assets of commercial banks rose 6.8% to S$413 billion between April 2004 and March 2005. Total bank deposits of non-bank customers grew strongly in the first half of 2004 but slowed down in the latter half of the year. For the year to March 2005, total bank deposits grew just 3.1%, driven largely by demand deposits (See Chart 4). Deposits of residents outside Singapore rebounded significantly by 9% year-on-year to S$12.2 billion in March 2005, after two consecutive years of decline.