Loans by Italian banks to businesses continued to fall in January, at a faster pace than the previous month, Bank of Italy data showed on Monday.

Bank credit to businesses declined 4.0% year-on-year, the Bank of Italy said, following a 3.6% drop in December.

Deposits stood at 2.39 trillion euros ($2.61 trillion), down from 2.42 trillion in December.

Italian residents' deposits with domestic banks fell 2.0% year-on-year after a 3.1% decline in December, the data showed.

Banks increased their bond issuance, with sales up 20.7% yearly in January from a 19.3% rise the previous month. ($1 = 0.9141 euros) (Reporting by Antonella Cinelli, editing by Giulia Segreti)