Bank loans for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector last year continued to fall short of the mandated level, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed. Nevertheless, MSME lending last year was P31.34 billion bigger than the P547.78 billion extended in 2018. Broken down, big banks extended P463.53 billion in loans, followed by thrift banks with P73.50 billion , and rural and cooperative banks with P42.09 billion. Earlier, the central bank reported that lenders have tightened credit standards on loans extended to enterprises in the fourth quarter of 2019. In particular, monetary authorities said loans granted to MSMEs shall be counted as part of banks’ compliance with reserve requirements.

Source: Manila Times May 03, 2020 16:10 UTC