Almost 20% of households have debt — BSP survey
ALMOST TWO in every five households had some form of debt, mostly in the form of outstanding loans and bills, 2018 data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.
Outstanding loans accounted for 28.2% of household debt, while household bills represented 17.1% and credit card bills accounted for 1.6%.
Most household loans were Pag-IBIG Fund and National Housing Authority housing loans, along with vehicle financing and business financing.
The 2018 Consumer Finance Survey released by the BSP on Friday said households choose loan providers based on interest rates.
“(The) bulk of reported interest rates by borrowing households were broadly low at 1-4 percent,” the survey results said.
“Households were able to manage their loans well as most were paid on time.”
At the time, around a quarter of households with outstanding loans used digital financial services for credit-related transactions.
The average monthly income for a household of five in 2017 was P15,000, with majority of households sourcing income from employment. Only 5.1% of households did entrepreneurial work, while nearly half also had income from other sources, such as remittances.
Average monthly spending was P22,000, mostly for food.
Out of over 70% of households that own residential property, almost half owned both the house and lot while 26.2% owned only a housing unit. Almost nine percent owned other real property such as a land parcel or farm. — Jenina P. Ibañez
