Money supply, lending ease in June

GROWTH in money supply and bank lending both lost some pace but maintained a healthy rate on on Friday.

Domestic liquidity or M3 ex from a year earlier—lower than May’s 13.5 percent growth— to P8.7 trillion. Month- on- month and seasonally adjusted, M3 growth was 0.3 percent.

“Money supply continued to expand due largely to sustained demand for credit,” the central bank said in a statement, adding that the continued expansion of M3 indicates that money supply “remains adequate to support economic growth.”

Domestic claims grew by 16.9 percent, down from the 18.7 percent posted in May.

The bulk of bank loans during the month went into real estate activities; electricity, gas, steam and air- conditioning supply, and wholesale and retail trade, and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles.

Lending to the public sector also moderated by 25.6 percent, slower than the 35 percent growth recorded in the preceding month.

Net foreign assets ( NFA) in peso terms, meanwhile, increased by 11 percent to P4.2 trillion from May’s revised 9 percent growth, the central bank said, noting that its own NFA position continued to expand on the back of robust foreign exchange inflows coming mainly from overseas Filipinos’ remittances, business process outsourcing receipts, and portfolio investments.

The NFA of banks increased as their foreign assets expanded at a faster pace relative to that of their foreign liabilities.

- creased due largely to the growth in their investments in marketable debt securities and interbank loans, while banks’ foreign liabilities grew mainly on account of higher deposits made by foreign banks,” it added.

Lending growth slows slightly

17.6-percent pace year-on-year from May’s growth rate of 17.7 percent.

Including reverse repurchase placements (RRPs) with the central bank, lending growth on a yearon-year basis rose 16.6 percent previous month.

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