Credit growth steady at 10.1 %

MANILA, Philippines — Big banks continued to sustain a double-digit credit growth despite the aggressive rate hikes of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) amid resilient demand for loans and financing.

Preliminary data released by the BSP showed that the increase in loans extended by universal and commercial banks remained steady at 10.1 percent in June. This was the fastest since the 10.2 percent recorded in March 2023.

Loans disbursed by universal and big banks amounted to P12.09 trillion as of end-June, P1.11 trillion higher than the P10.99 trillion recorded in the same period last year.

“It seems there is some marked resilience on demand for financing or loans. It’s double-digit and sustained,” UnionBank chief economist Ruben Carlo Asuncion said. “It’s a good sign for second-quarter GDP (gross domestic product) growth.”

The Philippine economy expanded by 6.3 percent in the second quarter, outpacing the revised 5.8 percent growth in the first quarter of the year. It was also higher than the 4.3 percent expansion recorded in the same period in 2023.

This marked the country’s fastest growth pace in five quarters or since the 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2023. In the first half, growth averaged six percent.

Asuncion added that the credit growth in June is aligned with how financials have performed for the first semester so far, with big banks posting record-high incomes from January to June.

Data from the BSP showed loans to production activities increased by 8.3 percent to P10.35 trillion in June from P9.55 trillion in the same period last year and accounted for 85.6 percent of the total loans disbursement.

The real estate sector posted a 12.3-percent increase to P2.48 trillion, accounting for 20.5 percent of the total disbursements. This was followed by the wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles with a 9.3-percent growth to P1.39 trillion for a share of 11.5 percent.

The manufacturing sector also saw an 8.9-percent increase to P1.27 trillion for a share of 10.5 percent, while loans for transportation and storage grew by 26.2 percent to P460.2 billion, accounting for 3.8 percent of total loans.