Bank lending grew by almost 13 percent in January, the highest recorded since December 2022, while domestic liquidity also continued to expand, data from the BSP showed.
Preliminary data released by the BSP late Thursday showed that bank lending of universal and commercial banks (U/KBs) grew by 12.8 percent in January, the highest recorded since the 13.7 percent logged in December 2022.
In December last year, bank lending rose by 12.2 percent.
Outstanding loans issued by U/KBs amounted to PHP13.01 trillion in January from PHP11.54 trillion in January 2023.
Loans for production activities went up by 11.8 percent in January from 10.8 percent in December.
The BSP said this was due largely to sustained increase in lending to key industries, such as real estate (9.8 percent); electricity, gas, steam, and air-conditioning supply (23.6 percent); wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (13.9 percent); transportation and storage (21.4 percent); and manufacturing (4.6 percent).
Consumer loans to residents on the other hand, increased by 24.4 percent from 25 percent in December, driven by the increase in credit card and motor vehicle loans.
In a separate statement, the BSP said domestic liquidity grew by 6.8 percent to PHP18.1 trillion in January.
This is slower than the 7.7 percent expansion in December last year.
Domestic liquidity or M3 measures the money supply in the local economy.
It includes currency in circulation, demand, savings, or time deposits, and deposit substitutes, such as promissory notes and commercial papers.
The BSP said domestic claims expanded by 10.9 percent in January from 10.4 percent in December.
Claims on the private sector grew by 13.1 percent from 12.2 percent in the previous month with the continued expansion in bank lending to non-financial private corporations and households.
The BSP said net claims on the central government went up by 7.4 percent from 7.2 percent due to higher borrowings by the national government.
Net foreign assets (NFA) in peso terms rose by 2.6 percent while the BSP’s NFA expanded by 4.2 percent.
The central bank said the NFA of banks declined largely on account of higher foreign currency-denominated bills and bonds payable.
“The BSP will continue to ensure that domestic liquidity conditions remain consistent with the prevailing stance of monetary policy, in line with its price and financial stability objectives,” it said. (PNA)
