While banks are growing averse to disbursing loans due to the pandemic, the Philippines Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund) reported record-high home loans in the first four months of the year.
In a briefing on Friday, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary and Pag-Ibig Fund Board Chairman Eduardo del Rosario said Pag-IBIG released P27.39 billion in home loans in the first four months of the year to 27,041 members. This is 64 percent higher than the home loans seen in the same period in 2020.
The agency also reported a record-high volume of members’ savings under their voluntary Modified PAG-IBIG 2 (MP2) Savings program.
From January to April, savings under the MP2 program reached P8.65 billion.
“The strong showing of our MP2 and housing loan program is a testament to the trust of Filipino workers in the Pag-IBIG Fund,” del Rosario said.
The increase in loan disbursements in the agency is in contrast to the consistently decreasing bank lending in the country. Consumer loans, in particular, declined by 10.2 percent in April, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported previously.
Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Acmad Rizaldy Moti expressed optimism that the agency’s performance will continue throughout 2021.