Universal bank avails of P4.08-B loan from BSP’s rediscount facility

ONE BANK tapped the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) peso rediscount window in April after the facility was left untouched in the first three months of the year.

A universal bank availed of a P4.08-billion loan from the BSP’s peso rediscount facility in April, the central bank said in a statement on Tuesday.

In 2021, lenders only tapped the facility in June, July, and September. These peso rediscount loans amounted to P6.12 million.

Meanwhile, the Exporters’ Dollar and Yen Rediscount Facility (EDYRF) remained untapped last month. The last time an availment was made under the EDYRF was a dollar rediscounting loan in 2016, the BSP said.

The BSP’s rediscount facility lets banks access additional money supply by posting their collectibles from clients as collateral.

Lenders may use the cash denominated in peso, dollar or yen to extend credit to corporate or retail clients and service unexpected withdrawals.

The bank likely decided to tap the BSP’s rediscount window for liquidity to meet rising demand for loans, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

Lending growth continued to pick up in March as the economy reopened further amid declining coronavirus cases, BSP data released last week showed.

Outstanding loans by big banks rose by 8.9% to $10.055 trillion in March from $9.253 trillion a year earlier.

This is faster than the 8.8% in February and is the quickest expansion since the 9.6% posted in June 2020.

Metro Manila and some provinces have been under Alert Level 1 since March. With restrictions eased, more businesses were able to increase their operating capacity.

Meanwhile, for May, the applicable rate for peso loans regardless of maturity remains at 2.5%.

For the dollar and yen discount facilities, loans will be priced at 3.33486% and 1.98246%, respectively. —