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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Banking & Finance devider FCDU loans drop to $15.2 B in 2023

FCDU loans drop to $15.2 B in 2023

Published Mar 29, 2024 04:39 am

Banks’ foreign currency deposit units (FCDUs) released $15.161 billion worth of loans in 2023, lower by 3.9 percent compared to $15.782 billion in 2022, based on Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data.

“Principal repayments exceeded disbursements amidst elevated interest rates for both short-term and medium-to long-term (MLT) loans,” said the BSP.

FCDUs are units of local banks or branches of foreign banks authorized by the BSP to transact in foreign-currency denominated deposits, and to invest and buy foreign exchange.

On a quarterly basis, FCDU loans declined by 2.2 percent from end-September 2023’s $15.501 billion.

The BSP also reported that FCDU deposit liabilities reached an all-time high of $54.416 billion as of end-December 2023. This was 13.7 percent higher from 2022’s $47.849 billion.

The central bank said the “surge in FCDU time certificate of deposits owned by resident individuals which aligns with the uptick in the remittances from overseas Filipinos” contributed to the increase in FCDU deposit liabilities.

It added that the bulk of these deposits or about 97.4 percent worth $53 billion or are still owned by residents and “essentially constituting an additional buffer to the country’s gross international reserves.”

As of end-December 2023, the maturity profile of the FCDU loan portfolio were mostly MLT or those payable over a term of more than one year. This accounted for 78.6 percent of the total.

The BSP said FCDU loans to residents accounted for 60.6 percent or $9.2 billion of the total outstanding loans. 

These were loans to the following sectors: power generation companies with $2.3 billion or 25 percent of the total; merchandise and service exporters with $2.3 billion or 25 percent; and towing, tanker, trucking, forwarding, personal and other industries with $1.2 billion or 12.8 percent.

In the last quarter of 2023, gross disbursements reached $18 billion which was up by 5.4 percent compared to the third quarter of $17.1 billion.

Meanwhile, loan repayments the fourth quarter last year totaled $18.4 billion or 8.4 percent higher than the previous quarter’s $17 billion. These resulted in an overall net repayment, said the BSP.

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