Philippine bank lending up 7% in November 2023

Loans to production activities rose thanks to a growth in real estate and energy activities.

Philippine bank lending rose 7% in November 2023, extending the 7.1% rise in lending in October, according to data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) released in January 2024.

Compared to October, outstanding universal and commercial bank loans rose by 0.6% in November.

Outstanding loans to residents rose at a slightly slower pace of 7.4% during the month, from the 7.5% rise in October.

Outstanding loans to non-residents, meanwhile, continued to decline in November with a 5% year-on-year decline. This extends the  5.1% decrease in October.

Outstanding loans for production activities went up by 5.7% in November, from 5.9 percent in the previous month, which the BSP attributed due to the growth in loans to major sectors including real estate activities (11.9%); electricity, gas, steam, and airconditioning supply (12.8%); and wholesale and retail trade, and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (9.6%).

Consumer loans, meanwhile, jumped up by 23.6% during the same month, faster than the 22.8% rise in October. This was reportedly thanks to faster incresaes in credit card loans, motor vehicle loans, and salary-based general purpose consumption loans.