Bank Lending Continues to Grow in October
Manila—(PHStocks)—Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas—Outstanding loans of commercial banks, net of reverse repurchase (RRP) placements with the BSP, grew by 13.6% in October from the previous month’s expansion of 16.2%(revised).
Similarly, the growth of bank lending inclusive of RRPs expanded at a slightly slower pace of 13.5% from 14.9% (revised) in the previous month. On a month-on-month seasonally-adjusted basis, commercial bank lending increased by 0.1% for loans net of RRPs and by 0.6% for loans inclusive of RRPs.
Loans for production activities—which comprised more than four-fifths of banks’ aggregate loan portfolio— grew by 12.3% in October from 15.3% (revised) in September. The expansion in production loans was driven primarily by increased lending to the following sectors: real estate, renting, and business services (which grew by 20.1%); electricity, gas and water (26.4%); wholesale and retail trade (14.1%); manufacturing (5.4%); and construction (44.1%). Meanwhile, declines were observed in lending to public administration and defense (-0.1%); agriculture, hunting, and forestry (-1.6%) and transportation, storage and communication (-3.6%).
The growth in consumer loans accelerated to 11.2% from 10.7% (revised) in the previous month, reflecting mainly the growth in credit card and auto loans.
The continued growth in bank lending, particularly to the productive sectors, is expected to support the solid growth prospects for the domestic economy. Going forward, the BSP will ensure that credit and liquidity conditions keep pace with overall economic activity while remaining consistent with price and financial stability objectives.