Bank Lending Grew at a Slower Pace in January
Manila—(PHStocks)—Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)—Outstanding loans of commercial banks, net of reverse repurchase (RRP) placements with the BSP, grew at a slower pace of 17.3 percent in January from 19.9 percent (revised) in December. Similarly, the growth of bank lending inclusive of RRPs slowed down to 16.6 percent in January from 19.1 percent (revised) in the previous month. On a month-on-month seasonally-adjusted basis, commercial bank lending decreased by 0.3 percent for both loans net of RRPs and loans inclusive of RRPs.
Loans for production activities—which comprised about four-fifths of banks’ aggregate loan portfolio—expanded by 16.0 percent in January from 18.7 percent (revised) in December. The continued rise in production loans was driven primarily by increased lending to the following sectors: real estate, renting, and business services (15.4 percent); wholesale and retail trade (17.7 percent); manufacturing (12.8 percent); electricity, gas and water (18.5 percent); financial intermediation (18.8 percent); and, transportation, storage and communication (19.0 percent). Bank lending to other sectors also rose during the month except for public administration and defense, and other community, social and personal services which declined by 3.2 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.
Loans for household consumption continued to expand by 20.5 percent in January from 21.1 percent (revised) in December due to the sustained growth in credit card and auto loans which offset the slowdown in other types of loans (i.e., salary loans and personal loans).
The sustained expansion in bank lending amid adequate liquidity continues to provide a meaningful boost to domestic economic activity. Going forward, the BSP will ensure that credit and liquidity conditions remain supportive of overall economic growth in a manner consistent with the BSP’s price and financial stability objectives.
