PHL Jan.-Feb. rediscount loans drop 88% to P4B

Banks’ availments of loans from the central bank’s rediscounting facility in January-February period in 2011 dropped 88 percent from the same period last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported this weekend. BSP records showed that loan availments of commercial, thrift, and rural banks amounted to P4.05 billion from January to February this year, from P34.45 billion availed in the same period last year. The decline in rediscount loans took place after the central bank lifted crisis-related measures to siphon off excess liquidity in the financial system as the Philippine economy robustly grew last year. The rediscounting facility allows banks to meet their temporary liquidity needs by refinancing the loans they extend to their clients. The BSP said the bulk, or P4.04 billion, of borrowings from the rediscounting facility went to commercial credits. Under the export dollar rediscounting facility, the central bank said dollar availments of four commercial banks amounted to $25.6 million in the first two months of the year, down from $27.1 million in the same period last year. The BSP said the loan availments under the export dollar rediscounting facility benefited 11 exporters. But as for the BSP’s export yen rediscounting facility during the period, the central bank said no availments were made. The BSP estimated its peso rediscounting rate at 4 percent annually for all maturities effective Feb. 1 last year. For March this year, the BSP pegged the rates at 0.261 percent a year for dollar rediscounting facilities and 0.1325 percent a year and yen rediscounting facilities. Last year, total rediscounting loan availments by banking institutions plunged 73 percent to P49.76 billion from P182.46 billion in 2009. — JE/MRT, GMA News