The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said availments of its rediscounting loans in the first eight months reached P117.12 billion, 8.3 percent higher than the previous tally.

Of this amount - available to commercial, thrift and rural banks - about 63.4 percent were commercial credits, 3.2 percent went to agricultural and industrial credits, and 33.4 percent were considered were divided between loans to services, capital expenditures, permanent working capital, housing and microfinance.

BSP’s export dollar facility, in the meantime, has amounted to $2.24 billion since it was first offered in 1995. This facility is tapped by 29 commercial banks benefitting 571 exporters.

The central bank is also maintaining a yen facility availed of by four commercial banks which had taken out 1.995 billion yen so far since 1999.

The budget for peso rediscounting is only P60 billion. BSP has been reviewing the rediscounting facility to put ceiling or limit per bank. The objective is to spread the facility to both big and medium-sized banks.

Last month, the BSP issued a new memorandum order updating the guidelines and procedures of its medium and long-term rediscounting loans following review of banks access to the liquidity window.

To improve access to rediscounting, the BSP said banks with existing rediscounting lines are eligible to medium and long-term loans “regardless of asset size.” Eligible projects include loans for capital assets expenditure, permanent working capital, housing loans and long-gestating agricultural projects.

It was only in March this year when the central bank amended the rediscounting window to make it easier for banks to avail of cash.

The changes provided more liquidity and credit in the banking system to ensure the orderly functioning of financial markets in the middle of a global financial crisis.

In November 2008, the Monetary Board doubled the BSP rediscounting budget to P40 billion for the purpose of preemptively providing ample liquidity to the system against any possible credit tightness that may develop from the ongoing global financial turmoil. The Monetary Board increased further the peso rediscounting budget to P60 billion in February this year.

The Monetary Board also increased the loan value of all eligible rediscounting papers from 80 percent to 90 percent of the outstanding balance of a borrowing bank’s credit instrument, but not to exceed 70 percent of the appraised value of the underlying collateral.

In addition, the rates for the peso rediscounts were also aligned with the BSP’s overnight reverse repurchase rate, less 50 basis points.