Banks see steady lending in Q4

Most Philippine banks expect credit standards and loan demand to remain steady in Q4 2026, results of the latest Senior Bank Loan Officers’ Survey (SLOS) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show. Credit standards For Q4 2026, 80.8 percent of respondent banks expected unchanged credit standards for enterprise loans, while 85.7 percent expect steady standards for household loans.

These are higher than the figures posted in Q3 2026, indicating a shift toward more stable lending standards. Among banks expecting changes in credit standards, the bias toward tightening has moderated both enterprise and household loans. A small share of banks also expects to ease their credit standards.

Respondents cited uncertainty over the economic outlook, deterioration in borrower profiles, and lower risk tolerance as factors that could lead to tighter standards. Loan demand Banks also expect overall loan demand to remain steady in Q4 2026, with signs of stronger demand. For enterprise loans, 69.2 percent of respondents expect demand to remain unchanged, 26.9 percent expect an increase, and 3.8 percent expect a decline.

Compared with Q3 2026, fewer banks expect unchanged demand and more expect demand to increase. The expected increase in enterprise loan demand reflects higher financing needs for inventories and accounts receivable, as well as limited access to other funding sources. For households, banks expecting stronger loan demand cited higher household consumption, more attractive bank financing terms, and increased housing investment.

PR