Rediscount availments balloon in Q1
Credit to Author: MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO, TMT| Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2019 16:22:36 +0000
Availments of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) peso rediscount facility surged in the first quarter of the year, data released on Wednesday showed.
Total loans rose to P52.301 billion, seven times more than the P7.036 billion borrowed during the same quarter a year ago.
The bulk or 56.03 percent was classified as other credits by the BSP. Specifically, the loans were used for capital asset expenditures (38.44 percent), loans to other services (9.64 percent), and permanent working capital (7.95 percent).
The remainder was classified as commercial credits at 43.97 percent, with loans for importation taking up 34.66 percent and trading of goods accounting for 9.31 percent.
Rediscounting is a privilege given by the central bank to banks qualified to obtain loans or advances using eligible borrowers’ papers as collateral.
Under the rediscount window, a bank wanting to liquidate outstanding client loans can run to the Bangko Sentral to swap these for cash at a discount.
The BSP also said that it had set rediscounted rates for April.
For loans under the peso rediscount facility, rates were pegged at at 5.3125 percent per annum for loans with 1-90 days maturity and 5.3750 percent for loans with 91-180 days maturity.
Banks, meanwhile, did not tap the Exporters Dollar and Yen Rediscount Facility (EDYFR) for the period.
For April, EDYRF rates were set as follows: For 1-90 days maturity, 4.59975 percent per annum for US dollar and 1.93600 percent for yen; for 91-180 days, 4.66225 percent for US dollar and 1.99850 percent for yen; and for 181-360 days, 4.72475 percent for US dollar and 2.06100 percent for en.
The rates “are based on the 90-day London Inter-Bank Offered Rate as of 29 March 2019 plus 200 basis points plus term premia,” the Bangko Sentral said.
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