Philippine banks sees lending go up by 7.1% in October

Loans for production activities rose during the month.

The outstanding loans of banks in the Philippines went up by 7.1% year-on-year in October, based on preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas released in mid-December 2023.

This ramps up from the 6.5% expansion in September.

Compared to September, the loans were up by 1.4%, the central bank said.

Outstanding loans extended to retail customers rose by 7.5% in October, from 6.6% in the previous month.

Loans for “production activities”, meanwhile, went up by 5.9% during the same month, faster than the 4.9% recorded in September. This was largely driven by growth in lending to real estate activities (8.3%); electricity, gas, steam, and airconditioning supply (10.2%); and wholesale and retail trade, and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (9.3%).

Consumer loans to residents grew by 22.8% in October from 23.5% in September, buoyed by sustained growth in credit card loans and faster increase in motor vehicle loans.

Outstanding loans to non-residents, however, fell by 5.1% in October from a 0.3% increase in September, BSP reported.