(CNN Philippines) — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has said that bank lending broadly slowed down in March this year, despite posting double-digit growths in different indices.
In a statement, the BSP said that outstanding loans of commercial banks — not including reverse repurchase placements (RRP) with the BSP — chalked up a 13.7% growth in March. The figure is slightly lower than the 15.2% registered in February.
When one factors in RRPs, bank lending grew by 13.2% in March, still lower than the 14.6% in the previous month.
The BSP added that on a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, “commercial bank lending increased by 0.1% for loans net of RRPs and by 0.2% for loans inclusive of RRPs.”
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Loans for production activities grew by 13.3% in March compared to 14.5% the previous month. The central bank said that such an index comprised more than 80% of banks’ aggregate loan portfolio.
Likewise, it attributes the expansion of the index to growth in real estate, renting and business services (10.1%); manufacturing (11.4%); wholesale and retail trade (12.6%); electricity, gas and water (14.2%); and financial intermediation (19.3%).
Only loans for public administration and defense saw a contraction (-2.3%).
Loans for household consumption also posted a double digit growth of 18.8% in March compared to 21.1% in February. The BSP noted continued growth in credit card loans, automobile loans, and others, such as salary loans and personal loans.
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