The BSP chief said big real estate companies are “conservative,” only setting aside a portion of their total occupancy for a certain sector. “What’s important is that lending to this real estate companies, such as POGOs, are anchored on some credit underwriting,” Javier said. “We use stress test exposure of banks to the real estate industry and assess whether their capital can actually absorb potential losses to these exposure. According to Fitch, property prices in the Philippines have experienced some of the strongest growth of any major real estate market since 2010, in real terms. “A higher reliance on the POGO sector to drive real-estate demand exposes banks and property firms to greater policy risks,” it said.

Source: Philippine Star January 19, 2020 15:56 UTC