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The uptrend in the exposure of thrift banks to real estate has
continued since last year buoyed by a liquid market for residential
and commercial properties, according to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
In a statement, BSP said the exposure of thrift
banks to the real estate sector reached P84.4 billion as of
end-December 2007, 11.0 percent higher than P76.0 billion in
December 2006.
“On the whole, the industry was able to
sustain an uptrend in RELs for 19 consecutive quarters now,” BSP
said.
Real estate loans (REL) accounted for P83.908
billion in the last quarter of the year from P81.419 billion in the
third quarter of the year.
Additional exposure for the quarter solely came
from RELs amounting to P2.5 billion.
The total RELs in December consisted of P66.827
billion for residential development and P17.081 billion for the
construction and development of real estate properties for
commercial purposes.
The data showed that RELs were concentrated in
financing the acquisition of residential property of individual
homeowners/borrowers.
RELs comprised 99.4 percent of thrift
banks’ P84.4-billion total exposure to the real estate industry.
The remaining 0.6 percent was in the form of equity investments.
Thrift banks have expanded its market to
middle-income families, particularly to Filipinos working overseas
and those who have taken residences abroad, by providing innovative
products and competitive interest rates in housing loans and
investment products.
On the other hand, total past dues in
residential loans went down to P7.853 billion in December last year
from P7.905 billion in September last year. However, past dues from
the commercial RELs increased to P2.699 billion in December last
year from P2.508 billion in September last year.
Meanwhile, total loan portfolio (TLP), exclusive
of interbank loans (IBL), expanded at a faster rate of 5.0 percent
to P250.2 billion. Thus, the ratio of RELs to TLP slid to 33.5
percent from last quarter’s 34.2 percent.
Nearly all of total RELs were granted by thrift
banks’ bank proper, while a meager 0.1 percent was lent by the
industry’s trust departments.
-- Maricel E. Burgonio
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