Loans from big banks or universal and commercial banks, excluding investments in Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) reverse repurchase (RRP), grew slower at 11.2 percent from March’s 11.8-percent expansion.

Growth in outstanding loans to residents, excluding RRPs, slowed to 11.9 percent in April, from the 12.4-percent growth recorded in March.

The decline in outstanding loans to non-residents moved faster at 10-percent rate, from 5.6 percent in the previous month. According to the BSP, outstanding loans to non-residents include loans by big bank’s foreign currency deposit units (FCDUs) to non-residents.

Loans for production activities rose by 10.3 percent in April, easing from 10.8 percent in March.

Loan growth slowed down as lending to major industries expanded at a more moderate pace, including real estate at 8.9 percent, wholesale and retail trade at 9.9 percent, manufacturing (0.6 percent, financial and insurance activities at 7.5 percent, information and communication at 7.7 percent, and transportation and storage at 14.9 percent.

Meanwhile, consumer loans to residents grew by 24 percent in April from 23.9 percent in March. The BSP said this was due to the rise in credit card loans.

Money supply growth slows

Money supply or domestic liquidity, as measured by M3, posted a slower annual growth rate. it expanded by 5.8 percent to P18.2 trillion in April from 6.2 percent in the previous month.

The growth in domestic claims was slightly faster at 10.9 percent in April, from 10.5 percent in March.

Claims on the private sector rose by 11.4 percent, slightly down from the revised 11.6 percent in March, as bank lending to non-financial firms and households continued to grow.

Net claims on the central government climbed to 9.4 percent in April from 8.1 percent in the previous month. The BSP said increased borrowings by the national government drove this.

Net foreign assets (NFA) in peso terms dipped by 0.2 percent year-on-year in April, a slowdown from 2.6 percent growth in March.

The BSP’s NFA inched up by 0.1 percent, while banks’ NFA dropped mainly due to an increase in dollar-denominated bills payable.

“The BSP will continue to ensure that domestic liquidity conditions remain consistent with the prevailing stance of monetary policy, in line with its price and financial stability objectives,” the central bank said.