‘Vibrant’ economy boosts FCDU loans by 20.6%

Loans extended by banks’ foreign currency deposit units (FCDUs) rose 20.6 percent to $10.5 billion in 2013 from $8.7 billion in the previous year as the country’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals encouraged investors and fueled vibrant business activity.

Data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) over the weekend showed that FCDU loans last year expanded by $1.8 billion from the year-earlier level of $8.7 billion. On a quarterly basis, FCDU loans rose 5 percent or $493 million from $10 billion recorded at the end of September 2013.