Philippine bank lending slowed 14.5% in Feb

Outstanding loans of Philippine commercial banks including reverse repurchase agreements (RRPs) eased to 14.5 percent on year to 3.4 trillion pesos (83.07 billion U.S.dollars) in February on back of slowdown in both business and household lending.On a month-on-month seasonally-adjusted basis, loans inclusive of RRPs declined by 0.3 percent.Production loans, which account for 80 percent of the total loan portfolio, grew at grew at a slower pace of 15.2 percent in February from the revised 16 percent growth in January. The expansion in production loans was driven primarily by increased lending to the following sectors: real estate, renting, and business services (25.1 percent); financial intermediation (27.2 percent); wholesale and retail trade (14.2 percent); manufacturing (7.3 percent); and, electricity, gas and water (12.7 percent).Consumer lending eased to 12 percent owing to the slowdown in credit card receivables and other household loans.