MANILA — A Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) bank lending survey found that a majority of banks expect to keep their lending standards for businesses and households unchanged in the fourth quarter of 2025. The survey cited responses from 58 banks.

For business loans, 86.0 percent of banks said they would likely maintain their lending standards, up from 78.9 percentin Q3 2025. The remainder are divided between easing (3.5 percent) and tightening (10.5 percent) standards.

Similarly, for household loans, 87.5 percent of banks expect standards to remain the same, rising from 77.5 percent in the previous quarter. About 10.0 percent anticipate tightening, while 2.5 percent may ease standards.

The survey defines lending standards as the rules banks apply when giving loans, including interest rates, loan size, collateral, loan conditions, and repayment terms.

Among banks expecting changes, a net 7.0 percent plan to tighten business loan standards, while a net 7.5 percentexpect to tighten household loans in Q4 2025. This is lower than the 17.5 percent net tightening for business loans recorded in Q3.

Loan demand is expected to remain mostly steady. For business loans, 73.7 percent of banks foresee demand holding steady, slightly down from 75.4 percent in Q3. About 24.6 percent expect demand to rise, higher than the previous 19.3 percent, while 1.8 percent anticipate a decline.

For household loans, 65.0 percent of banks expect demand to stay the same, down from 75.0 percent in Q3. Around 25.0 percent foresee an increase, compared to 17.5 percent previously, while 10.0 percent predict a drop, up from 7.5 percent in Q3.