(File photo)
MANILA – Bank lending of universal and commercial banks (U/KBs) and domestic liquidity grew faster in May this year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Friday.
Preliminary data released by the BSP showed that banks' outstanding loans, excluding those placed in the central bank’s reverse repurchase facility, grew by 10.1 percent in May from 9.6 percent in April.
Outstanding loans issued by U/KBs went up to PHP12.01 trillion in May from PHP11.9 trillion in April and PHP10.9 trillion in May last year.
Outstanding loans to residents rose by 10.2 percent from 9.6 percent in April, while outstanding loans to non-residents slowed to 8.1 percent from 10.8 percent in the previous month.
Loans for production activities grew to 8.4 percent in May from 7.8 percent in April.
The BSP said this was due to loans to major sectors including real estate activities (13.2 percent); wholesale and retail trade, and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (11.1 percent); manufacturing (10.1 percent); transportation and storage (26.7 percent); and electricity, gas, steam, and airconditioning supply (7.7 percent).
Consumer loans to residents, likewise, expanded by 25.6 percent from 25.3 percent in April, driven mainly by the increase in credit card, motor vehicle, and salary-based general-purpose consumption loans.
Domestic liquidity, meanwhile, grew by 6.5 percent to PHP17.4 trillion in May from 5.6 percent in April.
Domestic claims grew 10.7 percent year-on-year in May similar to the previous month.
Claims in the private sector grew to 11.6 percent from 10.9 percent in April due to the sustained expansion in bank lending to non-financial private corporations and households.
Net claims on the central government, meanwhile, expanded to 12.2 percent from 13.9 percent due in part to the sustained borrowings of the National Government.
Net foreign assets (NFA) in peso terms rose to 4.9 percent from 2.1 percent in April.
The BSP’s NFA grew to 8.6 percent while the NFA of banks contracted on account of higher bills and bonds payable.
"The BSP will continue to ensure that domestic liquidity conditions remain consistent with the prevailing stance of monetary policy, in line with its price and financial stability objectives," said the BSP. (PNA)
