Bank lending jumps to four-month high in June

BANK LENDING rose to a four-month high in June amid a jump in consumer loans, preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

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Outstanding loans of universal and commercial banks climbed by 12.1% year on year to P13.55 trillion in June from P12.1 trillion in the same period in 2024.

The lending growth was faster than the 11.3% expansion in May and was the highest in four months or since the 12.2% in February.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, big banks’ outstanding loans went up 1.2% month on month.

BSP data showed outstanding loans to residents jumped by 12.6% to P13.23 trillion in June, faster than the 11.8% growth a month prior.

On the other hand, loans to nonresidents declined by 6.4% during the month, although this eased from the 6.6% contraction in May.

Outstanding loans to residents for production activities expanded by an annual 11.1% to P11.49 trillion, faster than the 10.2% growth in May.

Loans for production accounted for the bulk (84.8%) of overall lending.

"Loan growth expanded faster as lending increased for the following key industries: real estate activities (9.9%); electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply (29.2%); financial and insurance activities (12%); and transportation and storage (15.9%)."