Credit standard for Philippine banks eases: Central Bank

Credit standards for loans given to businesses remain unchanged but standards to household have eased slightly.

This is based on Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas second quarter Senior Bank Loan Officers’ Survey.

BSP Department of Economic Research Deputy Director Dennis Lapid noted that any slight easing is viewed as a positive. Household loans are housing loans, credit card loans, automotive loans and personal and/or salary loans.

The latest survey is a reversal of the previous one since during the first quarter, the BSP said that credit standards for business loans have been tightened slightly while household loans were unchanged and this trend was consistent for the past surveys.

“Banks have remained bullish on consumer loans while prudent on business loans,” said Lapid. “The demand (for loans) continues to be strong for households and enterprises based on the survey,” he added.

Credit standards for commercial real estate loans also appeared to have remained unchanged or steady.

“This can be attributed to their stable outlook on the economy and on certain industries or firms, unchanged tolerance for risk, and perceived stable asset portfolio of banks,” said the BSP report. “Similarly, respondent banks’ loan-to-value ratios were steady during the quarter.”

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