Bank lending up 17.7% in May

COMMERCIAL banks’ lending activities grew by a faster 17.7 percent year-on-year to P5.3 trillion in May, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data released Thursday showed.

The increase in total loans net of reverse repurchase (RRP) placements with the BSP in May was higher than the 15.6 percent growth the previous month. Outstanding loans stood at P5.2 trillion in April.

Bank lending gross of RRPs rose 16.6 percent to P5.6 trillion in May, faster than the previous month’s 14.8-percent growth.

“On a month-on-month seasonally-adjusted basis, commercial bank lending increased by 2.2 percent for loans net of RRPs and by 2.5 percent for loans inclusive of RRPs,” the BSP said.

In May, 80 percent of banks’ aggregrate loan portfolio went to production activities. Production loans rose 17.9 percent to P4.8 trillion, faster than the 15.6-percent growth a month earlier.

The BSP said production loan growth in May was boosted by higher lending in the following sectors: information and communication (up 43 percent); electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply (up 29.3 percent); real estate activities (up 22.3 percent); financial and insurance activities (up 21.1 percent); and wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (up 18.3 percent).

“Bank lending to other sectors likewise expanded during the month, except for professional, scientific and technical activities (down 3.3 percent), and public administration and defense, compulsory social security (down 6.7 percent),” the BSP said.

Loans for household consumption, meanwhile, jumped by a faster 17.4 percent to P414.6 billion in May compared with the 16.8-percent increase  the previous month “due to expansion in motor vehicle loans and sustained growth in credit card loans and salary-based general purpose loans, which offset the decline in other types of household loans,” the BSP said. Ben O. de Vera