Bangko Sentral rediscount lending declines further in January

Rediscount lending by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) continued to decline amid ample liquidity in the financial system.

 

Banks – mostly thrift and rural institutions – took out some P61 million from the peso rediscount facility in January, down 69.4 percent from a year earlier, the central bank said in a statement Tuesday. 

 

Out of the total loan take outs for the period, the central bank said 84.3 percent went to commercial credits and 15.7 percent to other credits consisting of 13.2 percent for housing and 2.5 percent permanent for working capital.

 

The rediscount window is a source of funds for banks to meet short-term liquidity needs.

 

No bank tapped the dollar window under the exporters' dollar and yen rediscount facility (EDYRF). This represents a 100.0 percent decrease compared to the $0.2 million granted in the same period last year. 

 

Also, no yen-denominated loan was disbursed during the period, the BSP said. 

 

Money supply as measured by M3 grew by 9.6 percent to P6.9 trillion in December from a year earlier, latest Bangko Sentral data showed. 

 

The broadest measure of money in the financial system, M3 includes mainly currencies in circulation, bank deposits, and money market funds. 

 

The peso rediscount rate was pegged in line with the key policy rate of 4 percent, according to Bangko Sentral. 

 

The rate for loans under the exporters dollar rediscount rate was 2.3781 percent a year, and 2.22929 percent under the yen rediscount facility. 

 

Both rates were based on the London Interbank Offered Rate or Libor. – Danessa O. Rivera/VS, GMA News