Philippine bank lending rises 16%

Supports sustained expansion of productive sectors of the economy.

Lending by universal and commercial banks net of bank placements in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the central bank, shot up 16% to P3.5 trillion in September from P3.0 trillion on-year. Along with BSP placements, lending increased 14.6% to P3.74 trillion in September from P3.26 trillion on-year.

This was faster than the 13% expansion in the previous month. Loans extended for production activities made-up four-fifths of total credit in September. These rose 14.8% to P3.14 trillion from P2.74 trillion last year. Consumer loans rose 10.9% to P2.7 trillion in September from P2.5 trillion on-year. Credit card loans made up bulk of consumer loans at P1.51 trillion followed by auto loans P91.8 billion. The Philippine economy expanded 7.6% in the first half, one of the fastest in Asia.