The February balance of bank loans slipped to a record low 415.92 trillion yen, down 4.8 percent from a year ago, the Bank of Japan said Monday.

The balance, which marked the 62nd straight month of decline, was at the lowest level since July 1991, when the central bank began compiling the data, the BOJ said in a preliminary report.

The data cover banks with nationwide networks, known as city banks, as well as trust banks, regional banks and second-tier regional banks.