FCDU loans up to $4.8B in Q3

MANILA, Philippines - Foreign currency loans granted by banks increased by four percent in the third quarter of the year from the second quarter as loan releases outpaced principal repayments, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported.

BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said in a statement that outstanding loans granted by Foreign Currency Deposit Units (FCDUs) of banks amounted to $4.8 billion as of end-September, or $180 million higher than the $4.62 billion registered as of end-June.

Tetangco cited that gross disbursement increased by $536 million to $2 billion in the third quarter while principal repayments declined by $147 million to $1.7 billion.

“Outstanding loans granted by FCDUs of banks amounted to $4.8 billion, reflecting a four- percent increase from the previous quarter’s level, due mainly to higher loan releases versus repayments,” he added.

He reported that major loan releases for the third quarter were in favor of a mix of borrowers involved in oil, power and energy, manufacturing and mineral extraction.

The BSP chief said exporters and public utility firms remained the top FCDU borrowers accounting for more than half of the portfolio while producers and manufacturers including oil companies cornered less than 10 percent.

However, data showed that FCDU loans retreated by $53 million compared to $4.858 billion as of end-September last year due to audit and other adjustments.

According to the central bank, the share of medium and long-term (MLT) FCDU loans declined slightly to 58.8 percent or $2.83 billion as of end-September from $60.3 percent or $2.79 billion as of end-June while the share of short-term accounts increased to 41.2 percent or $1.98 billion from 39.7 percent or $1.83 billion.

“In terms of maturity, outstanding FCDU loans remained largely medium and long-term in nature,” Tetangco said.

MLT loans are obligations with original payment terms of more than one year while ST loans have original tenors of up to one year.

Tetangco also reported that FCDU deposit liabilities rose anew by $530 million or 2.43 percent to reach a 15-year high of $22.31 billion as of end September from the end-June level of $21.78 billion.

“This is the highest level recorded for FCDU deposits since 1994,” the BSP chief said.

He added that residents accounted for about 98 percent of the FCDU deposits while non-residents accounted for the remaining two percent.