BSP: Double-digit lending growth since Dec. 2010

Loans to industry sectors and households sustained in September months-long double-digit growth—with production lending rising by 22.9 percent to P2.4 trillion and consumer loans increasing by 17.9 percent to P21.47 billion. “Commercial banks’ loans have been growing steadily at double-digit growth rates since January 2011," the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Friday. The BSP also noted how “with strong global demand driving growth in the mining and quarrying industry, loans to mining and quarrying more than tripled in September from a year ago, sustaining the three-digit growth rate since May 2011." Production loans have been above P2 trillion per month since November last year while consumer lending has been over P200 billion per month since last May. "Contractions were posted in lending to three production sectors, namely, health and social work (-4.9 percent), education (-10.0 percent), and agriculture, hunting and forestry (-3.5 percent)," the BSP noted. Lending priorities since July 2010 Reckoning since the first month of the administration of President Benigno Aquino III in July 2010, P32.273 trillion worth of loans were issued by the banks to the country’s various industries. The manufacturing, finance, and agriculture sectors each got over P5 trillion in loans for their operations and expansion programs. Wholesale and retail trade took out P3.9 trillion in loans while power and water utilities got P3.027 trillion of credit financing. Transport, storage and communications businesses received P2.76 trillion of bank loans and the real estate businesses received P1.02 trillion. The least attractive sectors to lend to in the eyes of the banks are education, fishing, construction, public administration, and hotels and restaurants. Education institutions secured only P159 billion in bank loans while credit card debt was 11.12 times more at P1.77 trillion. Auto loans totaled P894.214 billion—higher than the P612 billion loaned to fishing, mining, education, and public administration combined. — ELR, GMA News