BSP: Bank loans post 19.8% increase in Aug.

Bank loans rose by 19.8 percent in August due to the increasing demand for loans amid the economic slowdown in the first half of 2011, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported Tuesday. In particular, loans extended by commercial banks reached P2.616 trillion as of end-August, or P432 billion higher than the P2.184 trillion registered in the same period last year, BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said in a statement. Data show that bank loans registered a double-digit growth of 11 percent in January, 12.3 percent in February, 14.1 percent in March, 14.2 percent in April, 17.4 percent in May, 18.8 percent in June, 19.1 percent in July, and 19.8 percent in August. Tetangco said he expects the steady growth in bank lending to support the growth momentum of the domestic economy. “The sustained expansion in bank lending supports the view that underlying domestic demand remains strong, coupled with positive expectations on the economy by both businesses and consumers," Tetangco said. In the first half of the year, the Philippines’ gross domestic product slowed down to 4 percent from the revised 8.7 percent in the same 2010 period amid government underspending along with weak international trading. In the second quarter, GDP growth was slower than expected at 3.4 percent from the revised 8.7 percent in the same 2010 period. — PE/VS, GMA News