Bank loans to MSME grow, but still short of threshold

Loans disbursed by banks to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) jumped by 21.6 percent to P552.41 billion from January to September last year, but remained below the mandated threshold.

- LAWRENCE AGCAOILI

Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed the amount was P98.1 billion higher than the P454.31 billion released in the same period in 2022.

The data also showed that the banking sector's overall compliance ratio of 4.63 percent as of end-September was still well below the required 10 percent under Republic Act 6977 or the Magna Carta for SMEs.

The law mandates banks to earmark eight percent of their total loan portfolio for micro and small enterprises and two percent for medium enterprises.