The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said, credit card receivables as well as auto loans dipped in March in line with weaker consumer spending due to higher prices of oil and other commodities. BSP said in a statement, bank’s card receivables slipped 0.6 percent to P115.4 billion in March this year from the end December level. Receivables went up by 19.7 percent compared with P96.430 billion in March last year.

Universal and commercial banks accounted for 81.1 percent or P93.6 billion of the total receivables and while credit card subsidiaries held 14.8 percent or P17.1 billion. Of the total receivable, the current amount reached P103.660 billion while past dues amounted to P11.757 billion. Non-linked thrift banks carried the remaining P4.7 billion on their balance sheets.

Banks’ loan portfolio amounted to P2.137 trillion in March and higher than the P2.130 trillion at end December and the P1.925 trillion in March last year. Price pressures increased in the first quarter and with inflation rising to 5.6 percent from 3.3 percent in the previous quarter. Credit card receivables comprised 5.4 percent of lenders’ total portfolio, higher than the 5 percent in March last year.

The substantial decline in auto loans stemmed from the change in financial reporting of auto loans under the new Financial Reporting Package said BSP. Thrift banks took the biggest slice of the auto loan market at 61 percent while universal and commercial banks held 37.3 percent.

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