MANILA — Loans extended by the Philippines’ banking system to the real estate sector continued to increase but share of real estate loans (REL) to bank’s total loan portfolio (TLP), exclusive of interbank loans, went down in the last quarter from end-March 2017.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed that as of end-2017 total REL reached PHP1.8 trillion, higher than the PHP1.71 trillion in the previous quarter and the PHP1.6 trillion in end-March last year.
Commercial REL accounted the bulk of the total REL at PHP1.2 trillion while the residential REL shared the remainder at PHP608.1 billion.
Also, Real Estate Investment (REI) at the end of last year went up to PHP276.97 billion, down from quarter-ago’s PHP295.82 billion but an increase from the PHP270.47 billion at the end of the first quarter.
Investments in real estate company-issued debt securities reached PHP174 billion at the end of last year, lower than the PHP184.4 billion in the previous quarter but higher than the PHP162.86 in end-March 2017.
Investments in equity securities in end-December last year reached PHP102.94 billion, down from PHP111.4 billion in end-September and the PHP107.6 billion in end-March last year.
It terms of RELs’ proportion to TLP, it went down to 20.6 percent in end-December last year from quarter-ago’s 20.72 percent and the 21.04 percent in end-March last year.
Monetary officials have been monitoring banks’ real estate exposure to ensure that there will not be any asset bubble, among others, in the domestic economy
They said signs of asset bubble in the domestic economy remain an idea since continued construction of housing units as well as commercial spaces are based on rising demand, due in part to rising income, favorable demographics and demand of businesses. (Joann Villanueva/PNA)
