Mexico banks' May private lending up 18.5 pct

MEXICO CITY, June 30 (Reuters) - Mexican bank lending to individuals and companies, a key engine of local growth this year, grew 18.5 percent in May from the year-ago period, the central bank said on Monday.

Banks' consumer credit fell 9 percent, the Banco de Mexico said in a statement.

Much of the drop came because Banamex, the Mexican unit of Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research), recently moved credit card debt off its books and into its specialized lending company, Tarjetas Banamex.

Healthy bank lending is seen as helping Mexico's economy grow despite the slowdown in the United States, the destination for more than 80 percent of Mexican exports.

The government expects the Mexican economy to grow 2.8 percent this year, down from 3.2 percent in 2007.

Growth in consumer lending peaked at an annual rate of nearly 50 percent in 2005 and 2006. Since then, it has trended lower.

Bank mortgage lending rose 18.1 percent in May while bank loans to businesses were up 27.3 percent, the central bank said.

Credit from non-bank lenders rose 115.1 percent, reflecting the movement of Banamex's credit card portfolio over to Tarjetas Banamex.

The average credit card interest rate in May was 34.24 percent, about the same as in April, the central bank said.