Credit card receivables rise 4.5% last year

MANILA, Philippines - More and more consumers are turning to their credit cards instead of using cash to pay for goods or services acquired as the bank’s credit card receivables went up 4.5 percent last year, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

Statistics revealed that credit card receivables of universal, commercial, and thrift banks amounted to P136.6 billion last year, or P5.9 billion more than the P130.7 billion registered in 2008, as consumers turned to their credit cards due to uncertainties brought about by the global economic meltdown.

Data showed that universal and commercial banks, as well as their subsidiaries, were aggressive in convincing credit card holders to purchase more through promotional gimmicks as their receivables grew 8.3 percent to P136.1 billion from P125.6 billion.

The BSP said universal and commercial banks accounted for 84.2 percent of the total credit card receivables last year with P115 billion, while credit card subsidiaries of universal and commercial banks cornered a 15.4 percent share with P21.1 billion.

On the other hand, thrift banks also booked P500 million in credit card receivables to a marginal share of 0.4 percent.

The banking industry’s total loan portfolio expanded 5.7 percent to P2.757 trillion last year from P2.607 trillion in 2008.

The ratio of total credit card receivables of the industry improved to 4.95 percent last year from the year-ago level of 5.01 percent.

The BSP said the quality of credit card receivables deteriorated as non-performing receivables increased 12.9 percent to P17.28 billion last year, from P15.3 billion in 2008.