Outstanding loans of universal and commercial banks (U/KBs), net of reverse repurchase placements with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipina (BSP), grew by 10.4 percent year-on-year in July, faster than the increase of 10.1 percent in June, preliminary data indicated.

On a month-on-month seasonally-adjusted basis, outstanding U/KB loans, net of RRPs, went up by 0.8 percent.

Outstanding loans to residents, net of RRPs, also expanded by 10.4 percent in July from 10.1 percent in June. Meanwhile, outstanding loans to non-residents increased by 9.2 percent in July from 9.8 percent in the previous month.

Outstanding loans for production activities rose by 8.8 percent in July from 8.3 percent in June.

This growth was driven by lending to major sectors such as real estate activities (12.0 percent); professional, scientific, and technical activities (438.3 percent); manufacturing (7.9 percent); transportation and storage (20.6 percent); and wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (6.0 percent).

Consumer loans to residents grew at a slightly slower pace of 24.3 percent in July from 25.0 percent in June due mainly to credit card lending.

Looking ahead, the BSP will continue to ensure that domestic liquidity and credit activity are aligned with its price and financial stability objectives.