Most banks to keep credit standards steady in Q4 — BSP

Most Philippine banks are expected to maintain their credit standards for both businesses and households in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Results of the BSP’s latest Senior Bank Loan Officers’ Survey (SLOS) released last week showed that a larger percentage of banks anticipate keeping their lending rules—covering interest rates, collateral requirements, loan size, and repayment terms—unchanged.

The BSP said 86 percent of surveyed banks expect to maintain credit standards for business loans, up from 78.9 percent in the third quarter. The remaining banks are evenly split between those planning to tighten and those planning to ease their rules.

For household loans, 87.5 percent of banks expect to keep lending conditions steady, higher than 77.5 percent in the previous quarter. Around 10 percent expect to tighten standards, while 2.5 percent anticipate easing them.

On loan demand, 73.7 percent of banks see business loan demand staying steady in the fourth quarter, slightly down from 75.4 percent in the previous survey. A similar share—73.7 percent—expect stable demand for household loans.

The SLOS gathered responses from 58 banks nationwide and serves as an indicator of lending activity and overall credit sentiment in the country.