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BANK lending grew at a faster pace but remain in
the single digit territory in December, the Bangko Sentral ng
Pilipinas (BSP) said Friday.
In a statement, the BSP said outstanding loans
of commercial, thrift and rural banks grew 7.8 percent year on year
in December. This was higher compared with the 6.3 percent growth
registered in the same month in 2006 and the 6.9 percent expansion
in November.
“The growing momentum in bank lending
could indicate that the past easing moves of the BSP have started to
bear fruit,” the central bank said.
Month on month, seasonally adjusted
lending rose by 1.2 percent, a reversal of the 0.4-percent decline
in November.
Bank lending to most sectors of the
economy increased during the period, except for agriculture,
fisheries, and forestry, as well as manufacturing.
Borrowings by the electricity, gas and water
sector led growth, expanding 55.8 percent from 47.4 percent in the
preceding month.
“The momentum in bank lending was also driven
by loans to the transportation, storage, and communication sector,
which grew by 15.6 percent,” the BSP said.
-- Chino S. Leyco
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