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FCDU loans rise as of end-September


Loans granted by banks’ foreign currency deposit units (FCDU) rose by 4 percent to $4.8 billion at the end of September from the second quarter, due mainly to higher loan releases versus repayments. But while FCDU loans increased, banks’ peso loan portfolio for the same period went down by P65 billion or about US$1.4 billion, the central bank said on Tuesday. Year on year, FCDU loans declined by 1 percent or $53 million due to audit and other adjustments. Exporters and public utility firms remained the top FCDU borrowers, with a combined share representing almost half of the portfolio, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said in a statement. Producers and manufacturers, including oil companies, borrowed less than a tenth of the total. Gross disbursements in the third quarter of $2 billion were higher by $536 million than the quarter-ago level, while repayments of $1.7 billion were $147 million lower. "Major loan releases for the quarter were in favor of a mix of borrowers involved in oil, power and energy, manufacturing and mineral extraction, helping spur further economic activity," the BSP said. Meanwhile, FCDU deposit liabilities rose further to $22.3 billion as of end-September, the highest level since 1994. About 98 percent of these deposits were held by residents. Overall loan-to-deposit ratio slightly improved to 21.1 percent from 21 percent in the second quarter, the BSP said. — GMANews.TV

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