Bank Lending Grows Further in November
Manila—(PHStocks)—Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas—Outstanding loans of commercial banks, net of reverse repurchase (RRP) placements with the BSP, grew by 14.8% in November from the previous month’s expansion of 13.6%.
Similarly, the growth of bank lending inclusive of RRPs expanded at a faster pace of 13.8% from 13.5% in the previous month. On a month-on-month seasonally-adjusted basis, commercial bank lending increased by 1.5% 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— expanded by 13.2% in November from 12.3% in October. The expansion in production loans was driven primarily by increased lending to the following sectors: real estate, renting, and business services (which grew by 21.8%); electricity, gas and water (35%); wholesale and retail trade (13.5%); manufacturing (9.6%); and construction (58.4%). However, declines were observed in lending to transportation, storage and communication (-3.4%); financial intermediation (-2.1%); and public administration and defense (-0.2%).
Meanwhile, loans for household consumption grew by 9% from 11.2v in the previous month, reflecting the slowdown in the growth of credit card loans.
The continued expansion in bank lending is expected to support the sustained growth of the domestic economy. Going forward, the BSP will ensure that credit and liquidity conditions constantly keep pace with overall economic growth while remaining consistent with its price and financial stability objectives.