BANKS’ agrarian reform and agricultural credits remained below the required minimum of 10 percent and 15 percent, respectively, of their total loanable funds as of the second quarter, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data show.
Data showed that out of the total loanable funds for the period of P2.996 trillion, banks’ lending to agrarian reform just reached P29.118 billion or 0.97 percent. This was significantly below the 10-percent minimum or P299.624 billion.
Also, banks’ agricultural credit stood at P394.82 billion or just 13.18 percent of the total loanable funds, still below the required 15 percent or P449.436 billion.
Loans of universal and commercial banks to agrarian reform in the second quarter stood at P18.48 billion, or just 0.67 percent of the total loanable funds of P2.764 trillion. This was below the 10-percent or P276.453 billion required.
The agricultural credit of universal banks during the period reached P361.895 billion, or just 13.09 percent and below the required 15-percent minimum or P414.68 billion.
Thrift banks’ agrarian reform credit reached P2.668 billion or just 1.45 percent of the total loanable funds of P184.054 billion for the period. Their agricultural credit fell below the 15-percent minimum to 9.92 percent, amounting to P18.253 billion, lower than the required P27.608 billion.
However, rural and cooperative banks’ lending to agrarian reform exceeded the minimum of 10 percent to 16.73 percent. This amounted to P7.970 billion, more than the required P4.765 billion.
Rural and cooperative banks’ agricultural credit also surpassed the 15-percent minimum requirement to 30.79 percent, which amounted to P14.671 billion. This was way above the required P7.148 billion for the second quarter.
The Bankers Association of the Philippines said earlier it wanted to push for amendments to an outdated law mandating financial institutions to allocate a fourth of their loan portfolio for agriculture and agrarian reform.