BSP's peso rediscount loan availments up 53% in first quarter

MANILA, Philippines - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday that total availments of rediscounting loans jumped by 53 percent in the first quarter of the year due to higher demand for funds to finance the expansion programs of companies.

Data released by the central bank showed that total availments under the BSP’s peso rediscount facility amounted to P40.39 billion from January to March this year or P13.95 billion higher than the P26.43 billion in the same quarter last year.

About 55.8 percent of the total rediscounting loans availed of by commercial, thrift, and rural banks went to commercial credits while 41 percent went to other credits including services, capital expenditures, permanent working capital and housing.

Meanwhile, about 3.2 percent of the total availments under the peso rediscount facility went to agricultural and industrial credits.

The BSP added that the availments under the peso rediscount facility excluded the P9-million rediscounting loans granted to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) affected by tropical storm Ondoy and typhoon Pepeng last year. 

It would be recalled that the BSP’s approved the establishment of an additional P5-billion budget for rediscounting to cover for typhoon-affected MSMEs. The amount was on top of the rediscounting budget of P60 billion.

On the other hand, aggregate availments under the export dollar facility amounted to $34.6 million from January to March that benefitted 21 exporters.

The BSP said there was no availment under the export yen facility in the first quarter the year.

The BSP has pegged its peso rediscount rate at four percent per annum under its peso rediscount facility for all maturities effective Feb. 1. It has also pegged the rate for loans under the exporters’ dollar and yen rediscount facility (EDYRF) at 0.24863 percent per annum for its dollar facility and 0.15500 percent per annum for its yen facility.

The EDYRF rediscount rates are based on the respective London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) for the last working day of March.

Last January 28, the BSP raised the rate on a short-term lending facility to four percent from 3.5 percent marking the start of an exit strategy with the tweaking of existing liquidity enhancing measures.

The BSP’s Monetary Board decided to keep its key policy rates unchanged at record lows last March 11 but continued unwinding its accommodative stance by phasing out more liquidity enhancing measures due to clearer signs of increasing momentum in economic recovery.