Loans to businesses expanded by 12.1 percent in December from a 12.6 percent rise in November driven largely by the credit growth of key industries such as real estate activities, 13.1 percent; manufacturing, 14.9 percent; electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply, 14.4 percent; wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, 12.7 percent; and information and communication, 21.6 percent.
Consumer loans rose by 24.8 percent in December from 24.2 percent in the previous month, reflecting the faster year-on-year growth in motor vehicle loans by 11.5 percent from 8.7 percent in November. Credit card loans slowed down a bit from 26.6 percent to 26.3 percent.
For the whole year of 2022, loans released by universal and commercial banks reached P10.9 trillion in 2022, which was P1.29 trillion higher compared to the P9.61 trillion recorded in 2021.
“The sustained growth in credit activity and ample liquidity will continue to support the recovery of economic activity and domestic demand,” the central bank said in a statement.