Bank lending up 24.8% in September

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) recorded a 24.8-percent annual increase in bank lending in September, led again by the wholesale and retail trade as well as transportation, storage and communications.

Elsewhere in the world, credit conditions have been shutting down in the wake of the financial crisis in Europe and the US. But central bank officials here said the phenomenon has been largely muted so far in the Philippines, with bank lending still growing at double-digit levels.

Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed that the outstanding loans of commercial banks including reverse repurchase agreements or RRPs increased in September by 24.1 percent year-on-year.

Excluding RRP placements with the BSP, the actual lending in September outpaced the August growth rate of 22.1 percent as loans picked up in several key sectors, including consumer lending.

The BSP said preliminary data for August was obtained from the new system of bank reporting under the Financial Reporting Package (FRP), which replaced the Consolidated Statement of Condition (CSOC) reports.

The BSP explained that the FRP adopted the detailed classification of the amended 1994 Philippine Standard Industrial Classification (PSIC) for international comparability.

The FRP also classified lending by production activities covering 16 economic sectors and by household consumption purposes with three economic categories.

Previously, bank reports classified loans into only nine economic sectors.

The BSP said loans for production activities led the expansion, growing by 22.4 percent in September. Actual loans stood at P1.677 trillion against P1.645 trillion in August.

According to BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr., the September data indicated that there was enough liquidity in the economy despite the onset of the global financial crisis that triggered a credit freeze in developed markets.

“This would support growth despite current tight conditions in the global financial markets,” Tetangco said.

Based on the BSP report, manufacturing accounted for the largest chunk of bank loans but transportation, storage and communications led all production activities in terms of growth rate.