By LEE C. CHIPONGIAN
Universal and commercial banks’ real estate loans dropped 0.82 percent in the first six months of the year to P184.259 billion from P185.784 billion the same period in 2004, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported.
The central bank said compared to the last quarter ending March, real estate loans also declined 0.7 percent from
P185. 575 billion.
The BSP said the
P1.3-billion reduction was driven by "reduction in the real estate loans of both bank proper and trust department. This due primarily to settlement of loans, coupled with the sale of delinquent real estate loans made by some banks under the Special Purpose Vehicle Law."
Real estate loans comprised 91.8 percent of banks’ total outstanding loans to the real estate sector amounting to
P200.6 billion. The rest or 8.2 percent was accounted for by investments in securities issued by the real estate companies.
In the meantime 96.8 percent of total real estate loans was held by universal and commercial banks’ bank proper while the remaining 3.2 percent was accounted by their trust departments.
According to the BSP, universal and commercial bank proper accounted for the bulk of real estate loans or 96.4 percent while their trust departments contributed only 3.6 percent.
Data also showed that real estate loans extended to the construction and development of real estate properties for commercial purposes including infrastructure projects accounted for 83.8 percent or
P154.4 billion of total while the remaining 16.2 percent or P29.9 billion are for the acquisition of residential units by individual borrowers.
Past due loans, on the other hand, dropped by 2.7 percent to
P37.7 billion from the previous quarter’s P38.8 billion. This led to the decline in the ratio of past due loans to 20.5 percent from 20.9 percent as of end-March.
The BSP said that another form of exposure to the real estate industry was investments in commercial papers issued by and in the equities of real estate companies.
Investment in commercial papers issued by and in equities of real estate companies declined by 3.8 percent to
P16.4 billion from P17 billion last quarter. This however is still 1.4 percent higher than year ago’s P16.1 billion. 
