FCDU lending increased in the first quarter
Outstanding loans granted by Foreign Currency Deposit Units (FCDU) of banks stood at $16.1 billion as of end-March, an increase of $911 million or by 6 percent from the end-December 2023 level of $15.2 billion as disbursements exceeded principal repayments.
Year-on-year, outstanding FCDU loans increased by $614 million or by 4 percent from the end-March 2023 level of $15.5 billion.
For the reference quarter, the maturity profile of the FCDU loan portfolio remained predominantly medium- to long-term [or those payable over a term of more than one (1) year], which comprised 79.1 percent of total, slightly higher than 78.6 percent from the previous quarter.
FCDU loans granted to residents stood at $9.7 billion or 60.6 percent of total outstanding, of which majority went to the following sector/industries: merchandise and service exporters ($2.4 billion or 24.4 percent); power generation companies ($2.2 billion or 22.4 percent); and towing, tanker, trucking, forwarding, personal and other industries ($1.7 billion or 17.8 percent).
Gross disbursements in the first quarter reached $19.2 billion higher by 6.4 percent than the previous quarter’s $18 billion mainly due to the increase in funding requirements of a foreign bank branch affiliate.
On the other hand, loan repayments in the reference quarter of $18.2 billion were 0.8 percent lower than previous quarter’s $18.4 billion. These resulted in overall net disbursement.
FCDU deposit liabilities reached an all-time high of $58.6 billion as of end-March, higher by about $4.2 billion (or by 7.7 percent) from the end-December 2023 level of $54.4 billion.
This is mainly due to the hike in FCDU time certificate of deposits owned by private corporations and resident individuals which aligns with the uptick in the remittances from overseas Filipinos.
The bulk of these deposits ($57.4 billion or 97.9 percent) continued to be owned by residents, essentially constituting an additional buffer to the country’s gross international reserves. Year-on-year, FCDU deposit liabilities increased by $9.9 billion (or by 20.3 percent) from the end-March 2023 level of $48.7 billion. BSP
