Jan debt service payments rise 110% to $1.729B: BSP

THE country’s debt service payments more than doubled in January 2024, according to the latest data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Data showed total debt service payments reached $1.729 billion in January 2024, a 110.09-percent growth from the $823 million posted in the same period last year.

BSP said the bulk of the amount, $1.052 billion, was allocated for principal amount payments while the remaining $676 million was allocated for interest payments.

The data showed the country’s principal loan payments more than quadrupled or posted a growth of 306.18 percent from the $259 billion paid in January 2023.

Interest payments, meanwhile, posted a double-digit growth of 19.86 percent from the $564 million posted in January last year.

The BSP said based on preliminary data, the country’s total debt service burden amounted to $14.752 billion in 2023.

This was a 73.9-percent growth from the $8.483 billion posted in 2022. This was a rebound from the 6.95-percent contraction posted in 2022.

Debt service payments in 2023 are broken down into: principal loan payments of $7.713 billion and interest payments worth $7.039 billion.

In 2021, debt service payments increased 20.1 percent to $9.117 billion from $7.535 billion in 2020.

BSP said that in March 2015, external debt data were revised to reflect the new reporting framework in line with international standards under the latest External Debt Statistics Guide and the BPM6.

Debt service burden represents principal and interest payments after rescheduling, in accordance with internationally accepted concepts.

The DSB data consists of principal and interest payments on fixed MLT credits including IMF credits, loans covered by the Paris Club and commercial banks’ rescheduling, and New Money Facilities.

Interest payments on fixed and revolving short-term liabilities of banks and non-banks but excludes prepayments on future years’ maturities of foreign loans and principal payments on fixed and revolving ST liabilities of banks and non-banks.