MANILA — Most Philippine banks expect to maintain their lending standards for both businesses and households in the third quarter of 2025, according to the latest Senior Bank Loan Officers’ Survey (SLOS) by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The Q2 2025 survey showed that 91.1 percent of respondent banks anticipate no changes in credit standards for enterprises in the third quarter, up from 82.1 percent in the previous quarter. For household loans, 85.0 percent expect to keep lending rules unchanged, compared to 82.5 percent in the prior period.

Credit standards cover factors such as credit scores, income requirements, collateral, loan size, interest rates, and repayment periods.

Among banks that foresee changes in lending conditions, the survey showed a net tightening of 5.4 percent for business loans and 5.0 percent for household loans. These figures are lower than the net tightening recorded in the second quarter—14.3 percent for enterprises and 12.5 percent for households—suggesting easing pressure on credit conditions.

For business loans, only 7.1 percent of banks expect to tighten credit standards in Q3, while 1.8 percent plan to ease them. On loan demand, 71.4 percent of banks expect demand from businesses to remain stable, while 26.8 percent anticipate an increase. Only 1.8 percent foresee a drop in business loan demand.

In the second quarter, 75.0 percent of banks said demand for business loans remained steady compared to the first quarter, with 19.6 percent reporting higher demand and 5.4 percent noting a decline.

As for household loans, 10.0 percent of banks plan to tighten standards, while 5.0 percent may ease them in the third quarter. In terms of loan demand, 72.5 percent of banks expect it to stay the same, and 27.5 percent foresee an increase. No bank expects a decline in household credit demand.

In the second quarter, 77.5 percent reported steady household loan demand, while 12.5 percent saw higher demand and 10 percent noted a decrease.