MANILA, Philippines — Outstanding loans granted by Foreign Currency Deposit Units (FCDU) of banks reached US$15.82 billion as of end-December 2024, reflecting a 0.5 percent increase (or US$72.43 million) from the previous quarter’s level of US$15.75 billion, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipins (BSP) said. 

In a data report, the central bank said this increase was driven by higher disbursements that exceeded principal repayments.

On a year-on-year basis, the outstanding FCDU loans rose by US$658.56 million, or 4.3 percent, from the end-December 2023 level of US$15.16 billion.

The maturity profile of the FCDU loan portfolio remained largely focused on medium- to long-term loans, which accounted for 77.1 percent of the total. This share was slightly lower than the 77.3 percent recorded in the previous quarter.

As of end-December 2024, loans granted to residents amounted to US$9.91 billion, or 62.7 percent of the total outstanding loans. Among these, the largest shares were allocated to:

• Merchandise and service exporters – US$2.52 billion (15.9 percent)
• Towing, tanker, trucking, forwarding, personal, and other industries – US$2.24 billion (14.1 percent)
• Power generation companies – US$1.93 billion (12.2 percent)

The central bank also said that gross disbursements in the fourth quarter totaled US$9.81 billion, marking a 54.9 percent decrease from US$21.77 billion in the previous quarter. This decline was primarily due to a foreign bank branch’s adjustment in its funding strategy for its affiliate.

Similarly, loan repayments amounted to US$9.70 billion, which was 55.3 percent lower than the previous quarter’s US$21.68 billion. Despite the sharp declines in both disbursements and repayments, the overall impact resulted in a net increase in outstanding loans.

At the same time, it said that FCDU deposit liabilities stood at US$55.46 billion at the end of December 2024, a 3.5 percent decrease from US$57.46 billion at the end of September 2024. However, on a year-on-year basis, FCDU deposits grew by US$1.04 billion, or 1.9 percent, from US$54.42 billion in December 2023.

The bulk of these deposits, amounting to US$54.14 billion (or 97.6 percent), continued to be held by residents, providing a crucial buffer to the country’s gross international reserves, it said.