The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Wednesday that there is room for credit growth in the Philippines.
BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said in an interview that, “Our [Philippine] loans-to-GDP [gross domestic product] ratio is just around 30 percent, so there is room for credit growth. In some countries it is over 100 percent.”
He added that, “there is no hard and fast rule. One just have to look at price [loans to GDP ratio] pressures and potential asset price bubbles. We don’t see that right now.”
In July 2012, the Monetary Board of the BSP cut policy rates by 25 basis points. Tetangco said that, “the Monetary Board decided to maintain the BSP’s key policy interest rates at 3.50 percent for the overnight borrowing or reverse repurchase facility, and 5.50 percent for the overnight lending or repurchase facility.”
Meanwhile, the Swiss lender, UBS, described the BSP as “prudent,” as “the Philippine economy is not immune to global headwinds.”
“In the context of international risks to the Philippine economy and low inflation, a reasonable case for policy easing can and has been made by the BSP,” UBS said.
The Swiss bank said that Philippine liquidity levels are not yet excessive, with more room for growth despite the double-digit pace over the past year.
“The lack of excess suggests the Philippine economy is still in a sweet spot. Easy monetary policy settings and rich asset valuations can encourage excesses in domestic credit and investment activity, but these have yet to show up in a meaningful way,” UBS added.
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