BSP loan portfolio up by 3%

MANILA, Philippines—The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ loan portfolio grew by 3 percent in 2012 as some banks tapped more credit to support the expansion of their lending operations and address short-term need for liquidity.

Data from its annual report showed that the BSP’s outstanding loans as of the end of December 2012 reached P106.1 billion, up from P103 billion in the previous year.

Of the loan portfolio, P53.8 billion was accounted for by fresh loans granted by the BSP last year. This was up by 17.2 percent from P45.9 billion in the previous year.

Some P7.3 billion represented loans denominated in foreign currencies, mainly the dollar. Foreign currency-denominated loans are used by banks to meet the funding requirements of importers.

The BSP said 9.2 percent of its outstanding loans was past due. This, however, was slightly better than the 9.5 recorded in 2011.

The BSP extends loans through several facilities, such as the overnight borrowing facility and the rediscounting window. It said the bulk of the loans granted last year were extended through the latter.

The rediscounting facility allows banks to borrow an amount equivalent to the discounted value of its receivables.

The growth in the central bank’s loan portfolio came as demand for consumer and business loans rose significantly.

Due to the encouraging performance of the economy, which grew faster than expected last year, banks extended more loans.

The BSP earlier reported that outstanding loans extended by universal and commercial banks rose year on year by 16.2 percent to P3.24 trillion.