Bank lending accelerates, says BSP

THE GROWTH in commercial banks’ lending activities accelerated to 15.8 percent year-on-year last January, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Monday.

The rate of increase in outstanding loans of commercial banks, net of reverse repurchase (RRP) placements with the BSP, in January exceeded the 13.6 percent posted last December.

As for bank lending inclusive of RRPs, such activities rose by 15.6 percent at the start of the year compared with 12.7 percent at the end of last year.

On a month-on-month seasonallyadjusted basis, commercial bank lend- ing increased by 1.5 percent for loans net of RRPs and by 1.8 percent for loans inclusive of RRPs, the BSP said.

In January, over four-fifths of banks’ aggregate loan portfolio went to jobcreating production activities. Banks’ loans for production activities climbed 16 percent last January, faster than the 13.7 percent the previous month.

Production loan expansion that month was boosted mainly by ramped-up lending to electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (35.7 percent); information and communication (27.3 percent); real estate activities (23.4 percent); wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (13.7 percent); and manufacturing (5.5 percent).

“Bank lending to other sectors likewise expanded during the month except for other community, social and personal activities, which declined by 7.2 percent,” the BSP added.

Loans for household consumption jumped at a faster pace of 16.3 percent in January compared with December’s 15.1-percent climb “due to the expansion of credit card loans and auto loans as well as sustained expansion in salary-based general purpose loans,” according to the BSP.