04.12.2002 Bangko Sentral Governor Rafael B. Buenaventura announced today that as of December 31, 2001, outstanding loans granted by FCDUs stood at US$5,559 million, down by US$234 million (about 4 percent) from the previous quarter’s US$5,793 million level. The decline resulted from net repayments (US$176 million) and negative audit adjustments (US$58 million) during the quarter. On a year-on-year basis, an 11 percent contraction was noted due to the depressed demand for exports, the conversion of some FCDU loans to peso loans (to minimize exposure to foreign exchange risks), and the continuing reluctance of some FCDUs to book new exposures following the Asian financial crisis.
Similarly, the FCDU loans-to-deposits ratio dropped to 41.8 percent (from end-September’s 43.3 percent) using the lagged computation basis, i.e., current period’s loans relative to deposits two quarters ago.
The Governor noted, however, that “the maturity profile of the FCDU loan portfolio improved with medium and long-term accounts accounting for 62 percent (US$3,456 million), up from the previous quarter’s 61 percent.” Short-term accounts made up the remaining 38 percent (US$2,103 million).
Loans to resident borrowers represented close to 99 percent of total loans outstanding. Exporters remained the top beneficiaries with borrowings representing 29 percent of total portfolio, followed by public utilities (24 percent) and oil companies (8 percent).
The top five lenders consisting of four local banks and one foreign bank were unchanged from the last three quarters. “The combined exposures of these banks was equivalent to 38 percent of total outstanding FCDU credits as of end-2001,” the Governor said. | 
