BSP to cut 28-day term deposit offer

FILE: The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has cut the volume of the 28-day term deposit facility (TDF) that will be offered for auction next week from PHP140 billion to PHP110 billion. (Photo by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Public Domain)

MANILA — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has cut the volume  of the 28-day term deposit facility (TDF) that will be offered for auction next week from PHP140 billion to PHP110 billion.

The 28-day TDF has been offered at PHP140 billion since May 3.

The move will be the second time for the central bank to cut the 28-day TDF offering this year.

“The decision to reduce the volume offering for the 28-day TDF is based on the recognition that the sustained economic expansion has also given rise to higher demand for credit,” BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said.

Guinigundo added that the volume of offering was also based on BSP’s liquidity forecast, which is consistent to its inflation and growth projections.

“Banks are now lending more to their clients instead of placing their excess funds with the BSP. Corporates are also using their peso funds in the banks to buy FX for their import requirements; some of them have also been investing outside the Philippines.

Some are pre-paying their external obligations. Thus, it is the excess liquidity of the banks that has declined recently and not the domestic liquidity per se,” Guinigundo said.

“BSP therefore does not have to do as much mopping up as before because funds are being used for productive uses instead of just being parked with the BSP,” the central bank official noted.

During the TDF auction Wednesday, the PHP140-billion 28-day term deposit fetched a total bid of PHP109.86 billion at 3.45 to 3.50 percent yield, the same rate from last week’s auction.

On the other hand, tenders for the seven-day TDF reached PHP32.44 billion at 3.25 to 3.40 percent yield, slightly lower than last week’s rate of 3.28 to 3.50 percent.

For the Sept. 6 auction, the seven-day TDF will still be offered at PHP40 billion.