Prepayments climb at end-Sept.
By Melissa Luz T. Lopez,
Senior Reporter
EARLY PAYMENTS for foreign loans surged as of end-September as Filipinos and local corporates took advantage of low interest rates as they hold more cash than usual, latest central bank data showed.
Prepayments for foreign obligations reached $2 billion as of September, nearly double the $1.1 billion settled during the comparable nine-month period in 2016, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
Excluding refinancing arrangements, total prepayments still logged higher at $1.4 billion.
The government, local businesses, and individual borrowers can choose to front-load their payments ahead of import deliveries or loan maturities, especially when market conditions appear favorable.
Rosabel B. Guerrero, director of the BSP’s Department of Economic Statistics, said the early payments included the settlement of funds borrowed from foreign sources as well as bonds issued to non-residents.
“Residents are prepaying and repaying their foreign debts. Prepayment of debt increased because residents have excess cash available, some borrowers refinance existing loans to take advantage of lower interest rates for new loans, while some shifted preference from foreign to domestic financing,” Ms. Guerrero said during a recent press briefing.
For the third quarter alone, total prepayments amounted to $809.2 million, surging from the $23.2 million settled during the comparable period in 2016.
Money supply growth remained robust at 14.5% in September to reach P10.146 trillion, maintaining a double-digit expansion observed in recent months.
The third quarter likewise saw the peso trading above the P51 mark versus the dollar, making it costlier to pay loans incurred in foreign currencies. Ms. Guerrero said some borrowers may have opted to settle their dollar debts and instead converted their obligations from local sources in order to cap trading losses.
The country’s external debt stood at $72.368 billion as of end-September, down by 5.6% from the $76.622 billion tallied a year ago. The figure also inched lower from the $72.493-billion balance tallied as of end-June.
The debt stock accounted for just 23.4% of the Philippine economy — a “comfortable” level for the central bank, as the share slipped from 25.4% a year ago.
Around 61.5% of the outstanding foreign loans are expressed in the US dollar, while yen-denominated debts accounted for 13%.