Banks loans jumped nearly a fifth in March from a year ago, amid robust demand for financing among companies and households, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show.
Preliminary data from Bangko Sentral showed that outstanding loans of commercial banks, net of reverse repurchase placements with the BSP, grew 19.7 percent in March to P6.16 trillion, faster than the 18.1-percent expansion in February.
Bank lending including RRPs expanded 18.4 percent in March, also stronger than the 17.5-percent growth registered in the previous month.
Bangko Sentral said on a month-on-month seasonally-adjusted basis, commercial bank lending for loans net of RRPs and loans inclusive of RRPs increased 1.7 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.
Loans for production activities grew 18.5 percent in March to P5.46 trillion while household loans went up 23.6 percent to P490 million.
“Loans for household consumption increased by 23.6 percent in March from 24.6 percent in February due to the growth across all types of loans for household consumption namely, credit card loans, auto loans, salary-based general-purpose loans and other household loans,” Bangko Sentral said.
“Going forward, the BSP will continue to ensure that the expansion in domestic credit and liquidity conditions proceeds in line with overall economic growth while remaining consistent with the BSP’s price and financial stability objectives,” it said.
Meanwhile, liquidity or the money supply circulating in the financial system grew 11.2 percent year-on-year to P9.5 trillion in March, driven mainly by the sustained demand for credit.
The March expansion, however, was slower than the 12.6-percent growth recorded in February.
“The growth in M3 remains consistent with the BSP’s prevailing outlook for inflation and economic activity. Going forward, the BSP will continue to monitor domestic liquidity closely to ensure that monetary conditions are conducive to maintaining price and financial stability,” the regulator said in a statement.
Domestic claims grew 15.8 percent, broadly steady from 15.9 percent in February due largely to sustained growth in credit to the private sector.
Meanwhile, net claims on the central government expanded 14 percent in March as a result of increased borrowings and the continued withdrawal by the government of its deposits with Bangko Sentral as part of its cash operations.
Net foreign assets in peso terms grew by 5.3 percent year-on-year in March from 7.2 percent in the previous month.
“Foreign exchange inflows coming from overseas Filipinos’ remittances and business process outsourcing receipts continued to be the main drivers behind the increase in the BSP’s net foreign assets position,” Bangko Sentral said.