Bank Lending Continues To Grow In March

Outstanding loans of commercial banks, net of reverse repurchase (RRP) placements with the BSP, grew by 14.8 percent in March from 16.9 percent in February.

Similarly, bank lending inclusive of RRPs increased by 13.5 percent in March from 15.7 percent in the previous month. On a month-on-month seasonally-adjusted basis, commercial bank lending increased by 0.3 percent for loans net of RRPs and by 0.1 percent for loans inclusive of RRPs.

Loans for production activities—which comprised more than 80.0 percent of banks’ aggregate loan portfolio— increased by 15.0 percent in March from 17.4 percent in February.

The expansion in production loans was driven primarily by increased lending to the following sectors: real estate activities (20.2 percent); electricity, gas, steam and airconditioning supply (31.8 percent); wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (13.6 percent); financial and insurance activities (10.6 percent); and information and communication (28.0 percent). Bank lending to other sectors likewise expanded during the month, except for professional, scientific and technical activities which declined by 9.6 percent.
Loans for household consumption expanded by 15.9 percent in March from 15.7 percent in February due to the growth across all types of consumer loans, i.e., credit card loans, motor vehicle loans and salary-based general purpose loans.

Going forward, the BSP will continue to ensure that domestic credit and liquidity conditions will keep pace with overall economic growth while remaining consistent with its price and financial stability objectives.(BSP)