Consumer loans up in Q1 says BSP

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MANILA – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Tuesday that consumer loans portfolio of universal, commercial, and thrift banks increased by 27 percent during the first quarter of the year.

Based on data from the central bank, consumer loans from January to March this year amounted to P932.78 billion, P197.68 billion higher than the P735.1 billion recorded in the same period in 2014.

The said amount was also higher by 3.4 percent or P902.47 billion recorded during the last quarter of 2014.

“This sustains the quarter-on-quarter growth in commercial loans that began in 2008,” said the central bank.

Meanwhile, commercial lending increased by 22.3 percent to P589.6 from P482.25 billion in the same period in 2014, whereas loans from thrift banks soared by 35.7 percent to P343.18 billion from P252.85 billion.

According to BSP, consumer lending during the first quarter increased because of steady growth in residential real estate loans and auto loans.

During the first quarter of the year, real estate loans increased by 25.8 percent to P411.44 from P326.92 billion, while auto loans increased by 25.8 percent to P244.61 billion from P194.37 billion.

The central bank’s records also showed that there is a 4.2 percent increase in credit card receivables, from P153.4 billion to P159.84 billion.

Despite the stellar performance in terms of consumer lending, BSP said that the major banks in the country were able to keep their non-performing commercial loans in control.

“This is essential to fostering financial stability, which is a key policy objective of the BSP,” said the central bank.