The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced the results of its Q2 2025 Senior Bank Loan Officers’ Survey (SLOS), revealing that a significant majority of banks anticipate maintaining their lending standards for both enterprises and households in the third quarter of 2025. While overall standards are expected to remain stable, the survey indicates a continued, albeit moderated, net tightening of credit standards.
For enterprises, 91.1 percent of respondent banks expect to keep their lending standards unchanged in the third quarter, a notable increase from 82.1 percent in the second quarter. Among the remaining respondents, a net tightening of 5.4 percent was observed, indicating that any adjustments are more likely to be towards stricter conditions. This net tightening is a moderation from the 14.3 percent recorded in the second quarter.
Similarly, for households, approximately 85.0 percent of banks are projected to maintain their lending standards in Q3 2025, up slightly from 82.5 percent in the previous quarter. The net tightening for household loans also moderated to 5.0 percent, compared to 12.5 percent in the second quarter. Credit standards encompass various factors, including credit scores, income requirements, collateral, loan size, interest rates, and repayment periods.
Loan Demand Outlook
Regarding demand for business loans, 75.0 percent of respondents reported steady loan demand in the second quarter relative to the first quarter, with 19.6 percent indicating higher demand. Looking ahead, 71.4 percent of banks anticipate business loan demand to remain stable in the third quarter, while 26.8 percent foresee an increase.
For household loans, 77.5 percent of banks observed unchanged credit demand in the second quarter, with 12.5 percent reporting an increase. For the upcoming third quarter, 72.5 percent of respondents expect household loan demand to stay the same, and a significant 27.5 percent anticipate a rise, with no banks expecting a decline.
The SLOS is a crucial tool for the BSP to assess the current and prospective credit conditions in the Philippines, providing insights into banks’ lending behavior and their outlook on loan demand.
