Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said that as of end-September 2019, outstanding loans granted by Foreign Currency Deposit Units (FCDU) of banks stood at $17.8 billion, higher by $338 million or by 1.9 percent from the end-June 2019 level of $17.5 billion as disbursements exceeded principal repayments.
Year-on-year, FCDU loans increased by $1.7 billion or by 10.8 percent from the end-September 2018 level of $16.1 billion.
The growth in loans may be attributed to borrowing firms’ higher working capital requirements.
As of end-September 2019, the maturity profile of the FCDU loan portfolio remained predominantly medium- to long-term debt, which represented 77.5 percent of total, higher than the 76.7 percent level as of end-September 2018.
The bulk of outstanding loans went to the following resident industries: towing, tanker, trucking, forwarding, personal and other industries; merchandise and service exporters; public utility firms; and producers/manufacturers, including oil companies.
Gross disbursements in the third quarter of 2019 reached $17.3 billion and were 3.7 percent higher than the previous quarter’s figure due to increase in funding requirements of an affiliate of a branch of a foreign bank.
Similarly, loan repayments were higher by 5.7 percent, thus, resulting in overall net disbursements.
FCDU deposit liabilities stood at $41.1 billion as of end-September 2019, slightly lower by $212 billion from the end-June 2019 level of $41.3 billion, with the bulk continuing to be held by residents; these essentially constitute an additional buffer to the country’s gross international reserves.
Year-on-year, FCDU deposit liabilities increased by $2.4 billion or by 6.1 percent from the end-September 2018 level of $38.8 billion.
