The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) today released preliminary data showing that the outstanding loans of universal and commercial banks (U/KBs), net of reverse repurchase (RRP) placements with the BSP, increased by 11.8 percent year-on-year in March 2025. This marks a slight deceleration from the 12.2 percent annual growth recorded in February. On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, outstanding loans rose by 0.9 percent.
Lending to residents, net of RRPs, continued to expand but at a slower pace of 12.3 percent in March, down from 12.6 percent the previous month. In contrast, outstanding loans to non-residents contracted further, declining by 5.6 percent in March following a 3.2 percent drop in February.
Loans extended for production activities grew by 10.9 percent year-on-year in March, marginally lower than the 11.2 percent increase seen in February. The easing in loan growth was largely attributed to slower lending to key sectors, including real estate activities (9.6%), wholesale and retail trade (11.6%), information and communication (8.9%), and construction (1.8%).
Meanwhile, consumer loans to residents continued to post robust growth at 23.6 percent, though slightly down from 24.1 percent in February. The expansion was supported by sustained demand for credit card loans, motor vehicle loans, and salary-based general purpose consumption loans.
The BSP remains committed to ensuring that domestic liquidity conditions and bank lending activities are aligned with its broader price and financial stability objectives. The central bank will continue to closely monitor credit dynamics as part of its ongoing efforts to support sustainable economic growth.
