PH business lending picked up in Aug.
MANILA, Philippines — Brisker bank lending to businesses pushed overall credit growth to a three-month high in August, taking total outstanding loans past the P15-trillion mark even as consumer borrowing slowed amid elevated borrowing costs and high inflation.
Excluding short-term placements with the central bank, loans by big banks grew 11 percent from a year earlier to P15.1 trillion, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported. This marked the fastest credit growth since May 2026, when bank lending expanded 12.1 percent.
READ: PH bank lending accelerates as business loans pick up
At the same time, M3, the broadest measure of money supply in the economy, went up by 11.2 percent in August to P20.7 trillion, driven by the faster growth in credit activity, the BSP said.
Business loans, which accounted for the bulk of big banks’ lending portfolio, grew 10.6 percent to P12.7 trillion. It was also the fastest pace of business-loan growth in three months.
The BSP attributed the increase to stronger lending to key sectors, including real estate; electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply; wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; financial and insurance activities; manufacturing; information and communication; and transportation and storage.
Consumer loan growth, meanwhile, remained robust at 16.2 percent, bringing the total to P2.1 trillion. But that was the slowest pace of growth since July 2022, when retail loans expanded 14.7 percent.
READ: Local bank lending to MSMEs remains sluggish
Credit card receivables grew 23.3 percent, also the slowest pace since July 2022, when growth was 21 percent. Growth in motor vehicle loans eased to 5.8 percent, the weakest since May 2023, when it was 4.1 percent.
Salary loans bucked the trend, growing 11.6 percent, the fastest pace since January 2025, when they expanded 14.1 percent.
“The recent surge in oil prices and the uncertainty arising from ongoing Middle East tensions remain key risks,” said Jonathan Ravelas, senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co. “Higher energy costs could reignite inflation pressures, squeeze household budgets, and make businesses more cautious about expansion plans.”
The BSP tracks bank lending closely because credit is a key channel through which monetary policy affects the economy. In August, the central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 5 percent, its third increase in the current tightening cycle, as it sought to contain inflation pressures linked to the war in the Middle East. INQ
