UKB loans post slowest growth in 9 mos L
OANS extended by Universal and Commercial Banks (UKBs) posted their slowest growth in nine months, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). BSP data showed loans from UKBs grew 11.2 percent in August 2025, the slowest since the 11.1 percent posted in November 2024. In April 2025, these loans also grew 11.2 percent. The data showed that after adjusting for seasonal fluctuations, outstanding UKB loans increased by 0.4 percent month-on-month in August. “The BSP monitors bank loans because they are a key transmission channel of monetary policy. Looking ahead, the BSP will ensure that domestic liquidity and bank lending
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ISRAEL ORDERS FINAL GAZA CITY EVACUATION AMIDST CEASEFIRE TALKS AND DEADLY STRIKES
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conditions remain consistent with its price and financial stability mandates,” BSP said. Outstanding loans to residents grew by 11.6 percent in August— also the slowest posted since the 11.4 percent in November 2024. BSP also said outstanding loans to non-residents recorded a decline of 5.9 percent in August, an improvement from the contraction of 8.1 in July, but a reversal from the 1.5-percent growth posted in August 2024. Loans meant to finance business activities grew 9.9 percent in August 2025, the slowest since the 9.8 percent recorded in November 2024. Last year, loans for these establishments saw a 9.4 percent increase.
BSP said lending increased for real estate activities at 11 percent; electricity, gas, steam, and airconditioning supply, 28.1 percent; wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, 8.1 percent; financial and insurance activities, 6.9 percent; and information and communication, 7.5 percent. Meanwhile, consumer loans to residents—which included credit card, motor vehicle, and generalpurpose salary loans—increased by 23.9 percent the fastest since the 24 posted in June 2025. The data showed credit card loans posted a 29.7-percent growth, the highest since the 29.9 percent posted in June while Mo-
tor Vehicle Loans grew 19.4 percent, the fastest in eight months or December 2024 when these borrowings increased 19.5 percent. Salary-Based General Purpose Consumption Loans, meanwhile, grew 6.4 percent in August 2025. This is the slowest in over three years or May 2022 when these borrowings posted a 6.3 percent growth. The BSP data also showed other consumer loans grew 20.1 percent in August 2025, the slowest since the 15.8 percent recorded three years ago or August 2022. Meanwhile, with the increase in loans, the BSP reported that domestic liquidity or M3, the amount of money in the economy, grew by See “UKB,” A2
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Friday, October 3, 2025 Vol. 20 No. 355
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 22 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
HE adverse trio of tepid capital formation growth, weakness of the manufacturing sector, and governance risks could become a “persistent drag” on the country’s growth and development, according to a think tank. In its latest brief, Global Source Partners Country Analyst Diwa Guinigundo said while the Philippine economy has been resilient, given these challenges, the country needs to be more proactive in addressing its development constraints. “The Philippine economy has demonstrated resilience through past shocks, but resilience alone will not suffice in the face of slowing capital formation, manufacturing weakness, external imbalances, and governance risks,” Guinigundo said. “Without timely and credible policy action, the ‘dark clouds ahead’ may settle into a more persistent drag on the country’s de-
velopment trajectory,” he added. Guinigundo said data supported assessments that gross domestic capital formation (GDCF) has kept the country’s economic performance lackluster. The latest data supported this concern, which showed that the GCDF growth slowed to only 2.4 percent in the first six months of 2025, compared to 6.6 percent in same period last year. He added that while the recent downgrade in the country’s economic growth outlook by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may be marginal, these are projected before the “full weight of global and domestic risks is felt.” See “Trio,” A2
PBBM CERTIFICATION OF BUDGET ON BLOCKCHAIN BILL SOUGHT By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
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BILL seeking to use blockchain technology to let the public track where taxes go and eliminate corruption will be sent to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. with a request for certification as urgent. During the Senate Committee on Science and Technology’s public hearing on Thursday, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Henry Aguda said he will ask the President to certify Senate Bill (SB) No. 1330 or the proposed Philippine National Budget Blockchain Act as urgent. This comes after Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, the principal author of the SB 1330, asked Aguda if he would propose to the President certifying the bill as urgent. The measure has suddenly gained urgency amid widespread dismay over how the national budget process has been distorted by politics and corruption. Ad-
vocates of blockchain use say it is the best technology for preventing corruption. In his presentation, Aguda likened the blockchain to a public bulletin board and a GPS tracker, where the public can track how every peso of their taxes will be allocated and spent. Once the front-facing interface is published, Aguda said this can be accessed through a portal, such as the eGov app, allowing anyone to verify a project’s cost and progress. Blockchain can help fight corruption through its immutability, as government transactions recorded on the technology cannot be altered or erased, Aguda said, adding that it also promotes transparency by making anomalies easier to spot. The technology will also empower citizens to access and verify information, while pressuring authorities to act swiftly on project implementation, Aguda added. See “PBBM,” A2
FLOODS OF OUR OWN MAKING Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) personnel conduct a “Bayanihan sa Estero” cleanup drive at Lagarian Creek in Brgy. Kalusugan, Quezon
City, on Thursday, October 2, 2025. The program seeks to ease flooding in Metro Manila by clearing garbage and silt that clog waterways—an enduring problem as residents continue to dump trash into creeks and drainage systems. NONOY LACZA
PMI setback only temporary, says Peza By Andrea E. San Juan
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HE contraction of the Philippine manufacturing sector in September is only a “cautionary signal” as this only stemmed from “short-term” challenges,” according to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza). “We in Peza remain positive despite the recent drop of the [Purchasing Manager’s Index] PMI for September, as we believe that this is more of a cautionary signal than a cause for alarm, stemming from short-term challenges rather than structural weaknesses,” Peza Director General Tereso O. Panga told the BusinessMirror in a Viber message on Thursday. Citing survey reports, the Peza chief pointed to weaker domestic demand, fewer client orders, supply chain disruptions caused by weather, the impact of various poli-
cy shifts and the recent geopolitical movements as key contributors to the slowdown in the manufacturing sector. He also noted that rising input costs continue to place pressure on manufacturers, prompting some firms to scale back orders or output. Panga said while foreign demand remains stable, the lower local demand “weighs” on overall performance of the manufacturing sector in the country. “For Peza, this underscores the importance of strengthening ecozone resilience against weather-related disruptions, ensuring stable and predictable policies that support manufacturers, and helping firms manage costs and diversify their markets,” Panga told this newspaper. Nevertheless, he said the investment promotion agency sees this trend as “temporary,” pointing out
that investments greenlighted by Peza this year reflect a “continued upward trajectory.” On Wednesday, S&P Global Market Intelligence reported that the Philippines’ Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) score fell to 49.9 in September from the 50.8 in August. “While signaling just a fractional deterioration in the health of the manufacturing sector, this was only the third time in just over four years where the headline index has been in contraction territory,” S&P Global said. (See: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2025/10/02/ fewer-orders-spur-factory-output-cuts/) Data from Peza showed that it has approved P154.70 billion worth of investments in the January to September 2025 period, up 33.5 percent compared to the P115.87 billion approved in the nine-month
period in 2024. Panga also noted that the economic zones have been generating more interest as multinational corporations (MNCs) are setting their sets on ecozones for their offshore operations. For one, the Peza chief said there are companies “shifting production out of China in favor of the Philippines to benefit from our lower tariff for exported goods to the US and EU as well as our most generous fiscal incentives package for investors across Asean.” The agency also sees this development in the manufacturing sector “as an opportunity to step up coordination with government and industry partners so that our locators remain competitive, resilient and able to contribute to the Philippines’ positioning as one of the fastest-growing economies in the Asia-Pacific.”
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 58.2290 n JAPAN 0.3961 n UK 78.5160 n HK 7.4827 n CHINA 8.1762 n SINGAPORE 45.2264 n AUSTRALIA 38.4952 n EU 68.3376 n KOREA 0.0415 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.5269 Source: BSP (October 2, 2025)