Bank loans fall 4.2% | Report on the situation of the financial system

2023-11-25 00:31:41

Loans in pesos to the private sector decreased 4.2 percent in September measured in real terms. This was reported in the report on Banks issued monthly by the Central Bank. In the last twelve months, commercial credit lines increased slightly in real terms, a performance driven by the Financing Line for Productive Investment of MSMEs (LFIP).

The monetary authority indicated that, with the objective of continuing to provide facilities for the development of MSMEs, in September the LFIP was renewed until the first quarter of 2024. The estimated balance of the LFIP totaled 2 trillion pesos as of September, representing 12. 3 percent of the total credit balance to the private sector (40 percent corresponds to investment projects).

The report mentioned that the financial intermediation activity of all entities with the private sector decreased in September, while the provision of payment services generally maintained the positive dynamics of previous months.

The amount of immediate fund transfers increased (although the values ​​transferred were lower than those of August in real terms), accumulating a year-on-year increase of 111.3 percent (+29.7 percent in real terms). Payments with Transfers (PCT) through interoperable QR codes continued to expand significantly in the month: 14.1 percent monthly in quantities (261 percent year-on-year) and in real amounts (246.4 percent year-on-year).

In the month, check clearing decreased compared to August (-9.6 percent in quantity and -11.8 percent in real amounts), in a context in which operations with ECHEQs continued to gain participation (representing 40 .6 percent and 65.4 percent of the amount and values ​​cleared in September, respectively).

For its part, the Central document mentioned that at the end of the third quarter the credit irregularity ratio to the private sector totaled 3 percent, without relevant changes compared to the August record and the level of a year ago. During the month the indicator of delinquency of credit to families was 3.1 percent, while that of financing to companies reached 3 percent. The sector’s provisioning remained at high levels, representing 3.7 percent of the total credit balance to the private sector and 121.8 percent of the non-performing portfolio in the period.