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LOANS
extended by various banks in the country increased in
February by 9.4 percent year-on-year but lending to
agriculture sector has been sluggish, the Bangko Sentral
ng Pilipinas said Tuesday.
Latest
data culled from various commercial, thrift and rural
banks in the country showed that lending to utilities,
such as electricity, gas and water sector, registered
the highest year-on-year growth at 81.4 percent from the
previous year’s 70 percent.
Transportation, storage and communication sector
followed the expansion in bank lending, with growth of
20 percent.
Banks,
however, have been lending much to the agriculture,
fisheries and forestry sector, which decreased by 2
percent for the period. Of the total, the sector only
accounts for about 6 percent.
February’s bank lending was higher compared with the
previous month’s 9.3-percent growth and 5.4 percent for
the same month last year.
Inclusive of banks’ overnight borrowing placements with
BSP, bank lending increased by 4.7 percent year-on-year,
lower than the 5.4-percent expansion in January.
According to data, the other sectors that increased
lending include financial institutions, real estate and
business services; community, social, and personal
services; wholesale and retail trade; and construction.
Those
sectors that saw a decrease in bank lending include
mining and quarrying and manufacturing.
Lending
to financial institutions comprised 30 percent of the
total, followed by manufacturing with 18-percent share,
and construction with 13 percent. |
