Banks’ lending standards unchanged in second quarter — BSP poll

Philippine banks kept their lending criteria largely steady in the second quarter of the year, although some lenders said they grew stricter in granting loans to businesses due to more stringent financial system regulations, results of a recent central bank survey showed.
Loan officers of the country’s universal and commercial banks said they maintained their criteria in assessing loan applications filed by individuals and firms, according to the results of the Senior Loan Officers’ Survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
This marks the 37th consecutive quarter that the majority of respondent banks reported broadly unchanged lending standards since the second quarter of 2009.– Karl Angelo N. Vidal