Philippine banks' lending slowed to 14% in November

Slowdown was most evident in trade and construction.

According to Maybank Kim Eng, lending of universal and commercial banks net of reverse repurchase placements grew 14% YoY in November, slower than the 15.8% pace registered in October.

Here's more from Kim Eng:

Lending to the production sector decelerated to 14.6% from 16.4% last month. The slowdown was most evident in the trade sector and construction. Manufacturing, transport, and the real estate and business services sector posted martginal MoM slowdown of at least 1 ppt each.

Loans to the financial intermediation sector bucked the trend as it grew faster than the previous month. On the consumer side, lending continued to slide to 12.1% in November from 13.9% last month.

Credit card receivables and auto loans each eased 1.7ppts MoM to 10.1% and 13.7%, respectively. Overall lending growth is in line with our FY2012 forecast of 14%. The central bank expects lending to continue its expansion, given strong demand and ample liquidity in the economy.