Bank lending continued to post double-digit growth while domestic liquidity expanded by more than 6 percent in March, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said. Preliminary data released on Thursday showed that outstanding loans of universal and commercial banks (U/KBs) went up by 11.8 percent, slower than the 12.2 percent expansion in February. Outstanding loans issued by U/KBs during the month amounted to P13.18 trillion from P13.02 trillion in February, and P11.79 trillion in March last year. The BSP said outstanding loans to residents, net of RRPs (reverse repurchase), expanded at a slower pace of 12.3 percent in March from 12.6 percent in February. Outstanding loans to non-residents, on the other hand, decreased by 5.6 percent in March, following a 3.2-percent decline in the previous month. Loans for production activities slowed to 10.9 percent in March from 11.2 percent in February. The BSP said loan growth eased due to the slower expansion in lending to key industries, such as real estate activities (9.6 percent); wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (11.6 percent); information and communication (8.9 percent); construction (1.8 percent); arts, entertainment and recreation (12.6 percent); water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities (12.9 percent); and accommodation and food service activities (19.3 percent). Consumer loans to residents grew by 23.6 percent driven by the increase in credit card loans, motor vehicle loans, and salary-based general purpose consumption loans. In a separate report, the BSP said domestic liquidity grew by 6.1 percent to about P18.2 trillion in March. This is slightly slower than the 6.3 percent seen in February. Domestic claims rose by 10.4 percent in March from 10.1 percent in February. Claims on the private sector grew by 11.5 percent in March from 12.3 percent in the previous month with the sustained expansion in bank lending to non-financial private corporations and households. Net claims on the central government increased by 8 percent from 5.9 percent due to higher borrowings by the national government. Net foreign assets (NFA) in peso terms rose by 2.5 percent compared to 5.8 percent in February. The BSP’s NFA rose by 4.5 percent, reflecting the increase in gross international reserves while the NFA of banks declined largely on account of higher foreign currency-denominated bills payable. "The BSP will continue to ensure that domestic liquidity conditions remain consistent with the prevailing stance of monetary policy, in line with its price and financial stability objectives," the BSP said. PNA PHOTO