The average daily balance of Japanese bank lending fell 4.7 percent in October from a year earlier for the 70th straight month of decline, the Bank of Japan said Tuesday in a preliminary report.

The balance of loans at five types of Japanese banks came to 396.88 trillion yen, slipping below 400 trillion yen for the third month in a row, the BOJ said.

The downtrend apparently reflects continued weak demand for funds by companies striving to reduce debts.

The data cover banks with nationwide branch networks, called city banks, as well as long-term credit banks, trust banks, regional banks and second-tier regional banks.