The BSP has processed ₱38.2 billion worth of LGU loan requests

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced on Tuesday that it processed 160 LGU requests for Monetary Board recommendations in the July-to-December period, the majority of which are targeted toward infrastructure development and pandemic response.

The value of the loans reviewed was ₱42.8 billion, nearly double the value of the 93 proposed loans they processed in the previous period.

The Monetary Board has already given its recommendations for 87.5% of the proposed loans worth ₱38.2 billion. Processing for the 20 remaining loans, however, was deferred due to the submission of incomplete documents or information.

The loan requests were made from 17 provinces, 21 cities, 120 municipalities, and two barangays worth ₱18.9 billion, ₱9.2 billion, ₱14.6 billion, and ₱4.2 billion, respectively.

By region, the most number of LGU requests that were given a Monetary Board recommendations came from Central Luzon with 15 worth ₱4.934 billion, led by Nueva Ecija’s ₱2-billion loan to fund agriculture and infrastructure programs.

Nine LGUs in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) submitted ₱10.509 billion worth of requests, the largest of which was a proposal for infrastructure projects and coronavirus (COVID-19) response worth ₱4-billion from the province of Batangas.

In the National Capital Region, Caloocan, Malabon, Marikina, and Valenzuela have received Monetary Board recommendations for their proposed loans worth a combined ₱3.9 billion.

The largest was Marikina’s proposed loan worth ₱1.72 billion to pay the balance of its debt to the Philippine National Bank and to finance infrastructure projects within the city.

Republic Act No. 11211 or the New Central Bank Act mandates that government entities and LGUs need to secure prior recommendations from the Monetary Board for their proposed loans, underscoring the role of the BSP as an advisor on official credit operations for the government.

SOURCE: Business World