Outstanding loans from universal and commercial banks in the Philippines rose again in May 2025, driven by lending to both businesses and individual consumers.
Preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that loans from universal and commercial banks (U/KBs) grew 11.3 percent year-on-year in May, up from 11.2 percent in April.
After adjusting for seasonal fluctuations, outstanding loans increased 0.9 percent in May compared with the previous month.
Outstanding loans to residents expanded 11.8 percent year-on-year in May, a slight dip from 11.9 percent in April. Outstanding loans to non-residents, however, declined 6.6 percent in May, following a 10-percent decrease in the previous month.
Loans to fund business activities increased 10.2 percent in May from 10.3 percent in April.
Loan growth eased slightly due to slower expansion in lending to key industries such as real estate activities (8.7 percent), wholesale and retail trade, and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (9.8 percent), and transportation and storage (14.0 percent). Loans to manufacturing fell 3.0 percent.
Consumer loans to residents, which include car, motorcycle, credit card and general-purpose salary loans, grew 23.7 percent in May from 24.0 percent in April.
The BSP said it monitors bank loans as they are a key transmission channel of monetary policy.
The BSP said it would ensure that domestic liquidity and bank lending conditions remain aligned with its price and financial stability objectives.
