Vol. XXII, No. 120 [ BusinessWorld Online ]
Tuesday, January 20, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
THRIFT BANKS lent more to the real estate sector in the third quarter of last year, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed.
As of end-September, thrift banks’ exposure rose by 20% year-on-year to P97.6 billion from P81.4 billion. Quarter-on-quarter, it went up by 4.7% from P93.2 billion.
The residential sector cornered 83.13% of real estate loans at P81.15 billion, up by 28.12% year-on-year from P63.34 billion the same period in 2007. It inched up by 4.7% quarter-on-quarter from P93.25 billion in the second quarter.
"Real estate loans were concentrated in financing the acquisition, construction and/or improvement of residential units that are or will be occupied by individual or household borrowers," the BSP said in a statement.
The remaining 16.9% of banks’ loan exposure equivalent to P16.47 billion were used for construction and development of real estate properties for commercial purposes.
Loan exposure to commercial purposes fell by 8.8% year-on-year from P18.05 billion but 7.16% higher than P15.37 billion during the second quarter. — Ruby Anne M. Rubio
__________________________________________________________________________
