Italian bank lending to businesses rose sharply again in August, data from the Bank of Italy showed on Tuesday, equalling its May 2021 level.

A monthly report on the balance sheets of domestic banks showed loans to non-financial companies grew by 4.8% year-on-year in August compared with a 3.7% rise in July.

The data also showed Italian residents' deposits with domestic banks were slightly down to 2.80 trillion euros ($2.72 trillion) from 2.82 trillion euros in the previous month.

Gross unpaid loans ticked up to 35.25 billion euros at the end of August from 35.20 billion euros a month earlier. ($1 = 1.0299 euros) (Reporting by Sara Rossi, editing by Cristina Carlevaro)