Loans issued by big banks posted a slight increase in August after eight consecutive months of contractions, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported Thursday.
Preliminary data show that outstanding loans of universal and commercial banks (U/KBs), net of reverse repurchase placements, increased by 1.3%, following the 0.7% decline in July.
“This is the first reported expansion in outstanding loans of U/KBs after eight consecutive months of contractions, amid improvements in sentiment brought about by the continued rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and the gradual easing of quarantine restrictions,” Diokno said in a virtual briefing.
Data from the Department of Health (DOH) indicated that there were a total of 45.147 million doses administered as of September 29, with 21.103 million receiving the full dosage and 24.044 million with only the first dose so far.
The National Capital Region (NCR) is currently under Alert Level 4, under which select businesses have been allowed to resume operations, albeit at a limited capacity.
The BSP on Thursday also reported a decline in outstanding loans granted by Foreign Currency Deposit Units (FCDUs) which stood at $16.2 billion as of end-June, 1.0% or $170 million less than the end-March level of $16.3 billion.
“The decline in FCDU loans may be attributed to lender banks’ tightened credit standards resulting in a slowdown in their lending operations and credit activity,” Diokno said.
Diokno also attributed the decline to the borrowers’ reduced capital and funding requirements relative to pre-pandemic levels amid the economic slowdown and the availability of other funding sources.
“Together with the national government’s fiscal and health interventions, the BSP’s prevailing accommodative monetary policy stance should help boost domestic demand and market confidence in support of economic activity,” he said.
“Moving forward, the BSP will continue to provide the appropriate monetary policy support to allow the momentum of economic recovery to gain more traction, in line with the BSP’s price and financial stability mandates,” Diokno added.—LDF, GMA News
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