Bank lending to the property sector increased "significantly faster than bank lending to other businesses recently" the Financial Stability Review published yesterday by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand shows. This is against the trend, since lending growth to business is easing overall due to the domestic recession and what the review describes as challenging funding conditions.  The review said the increased levels of commercial property lending may reflect New Zealand banks providing finance for commercial property purchases where the vendor's prior financier was an offshore institution.The RBNZ went on to note that "the declining values of listed property trusts, for example, show that the decline may be significant in some segments."For these reasons the Reserve Bank believes that commercial property exposure should also be monitored with additional care in the current environment."