Consumer loans hit P413B in 4th quarter

By Katlene O. Cacho

THE country’s consumer loans reached P413 billion in the fourth quarter last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.

As of December last year, BSP said consumer loans (CLs) of universal, commercial and thrift banks reached P413.1 billion, up by 3.2 percent than last quarter’s P400.1 billion.

However, the proportion of total CLs to total loan portfolio (TLP), exclusive of interbank loans dropped to 15.2 percent from last quarter’s 16.0 percent.

BSP said residential real estate loans accounted for the bulk of total CLs at 39.4 percent or P162.6 billion, followed by the credit card receivables of 27.9 percent or P115.5 billion. Auto loans and other consumer loans registered shares of 22.9 percent or P94.5 billion and 9.8 percent or P40.5 billion, respectively.

BSP said universal and commercial banks accounted for majority of the banking industry’s total CLs at 60.3 percent or P249.2 billion, while thrift banks accounted for the remaining 39.7 percent or P163.9 billion.