Foreign currency-denominated loans as of the third quarter declined 3.1 percent from the second quarter as repayments exceeded disbursements, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said in a statement Tuesday.
Data showed that outstanding FCDU loans stood at $11.8 billion as of end-September, down $375 million from the end-June level of $12.1 billion.
“Except for loans to producers/manufacturers which slightly increased by 0.6 percent, FCDU loans granted in the third quarter to all other types of debtors declined compared to the previous quarter,” it said.
Loans to exporters declined 3 percent, public utilities by 2.3 percent, oil companies by 75.7 percent, and other borrowers/sectors (including non-residents) by 2.2 percent.
The bank regulator said some borrowers might have shifted to domestic financing as peso loans showed a growth of 5 percent from P4.3 trillion to P4.6 trillion in the third quarter.
Loans to resident borrowers represented 70.8 percent of total outstanding FCDU loans, with different sectors and industries as major beneficiaries. These included public utility firms, 16.8 percent; producers/manufacturers, including oil companies, 6.8 percent; merchandise and service exporters, 22.9 percent; management/holding and stock brokerage, 7.2 percent; and towing, tanker, trucking, forwarding, personal and other individuals, 12.8 percent.
The $0.5 billion balance of outstanding loans or 3.9 percent went to other residents as well as government agencies and enterprises.
Gross disbursements during the reference quarter increased 20.9 percent to reach $15.8 billion compared with the previous quarter’s $13-billion level. The bulk of loan releases or 93.9 percent had short-term maturities and were largely for working capital and other short-term funding requirements (89.2 percent of total short-term disbursements).
Medium- to long-term loans, or those payable over a term of more than one year, accounted for 70.5 percent of total loans and funded various projects. Short-term accounts, or those with original maturities of up to one year, comprised the 29.5 percent balance of the loan portfolio.
FCDU deposit liabilities increased from $31.8 billion in the previous quarter to $33.2 billion or by $1.4 billion in the third quarter.
“The bulk or 97.3 percent of the deposits continued to be held by residents, and essentially constitute additional buffer to the country’s gross international reserves,” Bangko Sentral said.
The loans-to-deposit ratio, meanwhile, decreased from 38.1 percent to 35.4 percent in the third quarter following the higher rate of contraction of loans (3.1 percent) and increase in deposits (4.4 percent).