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THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Friday that offshore
banking units (OBUs) posted a nearly three-fold growth in net income
last year.
In a statement, the BSP said the banking
units’ efficient operations last year allowed their combined
after-tax net income to jump 179 percent to $11 million from the
figure recorded in 2006. Their operating income inched up 2.9
percent, but expenses were reduced by 30.8 percent to $8 million.
At end-December, total assets of the OBUs
amounted to $3.7 billion, the highest since 1997, although the level
barely changed year on year.
The BSP said OBUs continued to place majority of
their funds in loans and discounts.
The account swelled to $2.1 billion last year
from $1.6 billion the previous year. Consequently, the proportion of
loans and discounts to gross assets rose to 57.8 percent from 42.8
percent in 2006.
Investments in bonds and other securities
dwindled to just $0.8 billion from $1.3 billion in 2006 due to the
low interest environment.
The share of investments in bonds and other
securities to OBU assets was only 20.4 percent, down from 36.4
percent year on year.
Lending to banks, however, grew $83 million to
$714 million.
A substantial portion or 96.0 percent was lent
to nonresident banks while only 4 percent went to banks in the
Philippines.
The main recipients of loans were non-resident
borrowers at 92.9 percent, or $2.0 billion of total loans from $1.4
billion a year before. The share of resident borrowers to total
loans dropped to 7.1 percent from 10.1 percent.
BSP said loans to residents were concentrated in
three main economic activities, with more than half granted to the
manufacturing sector at 57.0 percent or $86 million, up from 6.5
percent or $10 million in 2006.
The transportation, storage and communications
sector was a far second at 22.8 or $34 million, but still up from
21.7 percent or $34 million the previous year. The electricity, gas
and water sector was a far third at 6.3 percent or $10 million, down
from 38.4 percent, or $61 million year on year.
OBUs relied more on banks outside the
Philippines for funding than from head office or branches-abroad,
the erstwhile main source of funding.
-- Chino S. Leyco
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