By Lee C. Chipongian
The central bank said big banks’ outstanding loans increased by 19.6 percent year-on-year in July to P7.47 trillion net of reverse repurchase (RRP) placements.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) noted that July’s lending growth is higher compared to June’s 19.1 percent.
With RRP placements with the BSP, total outstanding loans went up by 18.7 percent year-on-year in July to P8 trillion, faster than June’s 17.7 percent growth.
The BSP said that “on a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, commercial bank loans net of RRPs and loans inclusive of RRPs increased by 1.9 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.”
Production loans accounted for 88.6 percent the total loan value. Loans for production activities increased by 19.7 percent year-on-year, more than June’s 19.2 percent. This amounted to P6.86 trillion in July.
Bank lending to the wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles rose by 25.6 percent to P1.07 trillion while loans to financial and insurance activities as well as real estate activities went up by 35.9 percent and 15.9 percent, respectively, to P700 billion and P1.3 trillion.
Loans to the manufacturing sector was up by 19 percent to P1.02 trillion. Borrowings for the electricity, gas, steam and airconditioning supply and construction sectors increased by 9.7 percent and 37.6 percent to P853.76 billion and P244.52 billion, respectively.
The BSP reported that bank lending for household consumption however had a slower growth in July of 16.9 percent compared to 17.8 percent in June. The contraction in salary-based general purpose consumption loans and other types of house, as well as the slower growth in motor vehicle loans offset the faster expansion in credit card loans in July, according to a central bank statement.
Loans for household consumption amounted to P615.35 billion in July. These are credit card loans of P256.18 billion, car loans of P278.59 billion and salary-based loans of P68.25 billio