LOANS granted by the Foreign Currency Deposit Units (FCDU) of banks slightly picked up in the third quarter of 2024, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported last week.
Outstanding FCDU loans totaled $15.75 billion as of end-September, up 0.7 percent from $15.63 billion three months earlier and attributed to disbursements exceeding principal repayments.
FCDUs refer to a unit of a local bank or foreign bank branch that has been authorized by the BSP to engage in foreign-currency denominated transactions.
The maturity profile of the FCDU loan portfolio remained predominantly medium to long term or those payable over a term of more than one year, which comprised 77.3 percent of total, slightly higher than 76.7 percent from the previous quarter.
FCDU loans to residents amounted to $9.68 billion, or 61.5 percent of the total. The bulk of this went to merchandise and service exporters ($2.49 billion or 25.7 percent); towing, tanker, trucking, forwarding, personal and other industries ($2.08 billion or 21.5 percent); and power generation companies ($1.92 billion or 19.9 percent).
Gross disbursements reached $21.77 billion during the quarter, up by 9.4 percent than the prior three months’ $19.90 billion, due to an increase in funding requirements of a foreign bank branch affiliate.
Loan repayments totaled $21.68 billion, 6.6 percent higher than the April-June’s $20.33 billion.
“These resulted in overall net disbursement,” the Bangko Sentral said.
FCDU deposit liabilities, meanwhile, reached $57.46 billion as of end-September, 4.2 percent higher than $55.16 billion in the second quarter.
The bulk of FCDU deposits of $56.12 billion were owned by residents, essentially constituting an additional buffer to the country’s gross international reserves.
Year on year, FCDU deposit liabilities were higher by $5.67 billion, or 10.9 percent, from the January-September 2023 level of $51.80 billion.
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