According to the today fashionable “secular stagnation” hypothesis, advanced economies suffer from a persistent imbalance resulting from an increasing propensity to save and a decreasing propensity to invest; excessive savings act as a hindrance to growth and inflation, and pull down real interest rates.
Without coming to any definitive conclusion on the issue, a number of points can be raised. Firstly, should we be concerned about this from a financial stability, a microprudential, or a monetary policy perspective? From a monetary policy point of view, we would need to understand the extent to which this lending translates into excessive expenditure with potential inflationary consequences.