Banks' assets up 9.4% in January

The total banking system’s total assets increased by 9.36 percent to P22.49 trillion as of end-January from P20.566 trillion same period in 2022, based on Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data. Banks’ asset growth are primarily funded by deposits. These are tallied as cash and due from banks, net investments and the net real and other properties acquired or ROPA. In terms of asset composition, loans accounted for 54 percent of banking system’s total assets. Loans includes interbank loans receivable or IBL and reverse repurchase, net of allowances for credit losses. Investments such as debt and securities, and cash and due from banks accounted for 30 percent and 13 percent, respectively. By banking group, the universal and commercial banks accounted for 94 percent of total assets with P21.16 trillion, while thrift banks contributed more than four percent at P961.91 billion as of end-January. The data for both rural and cooperative banks are delayed in reporting but as of end-December 2022, rural banks’ total assets amounted to P343.84 billion while cooperative banks have P28.7 billion. For the total banking system under assets, cash and due from banks reached P2.74 trillion as of end-January, down by 20.11 percent compared to 3.43 trillion same time in 2022. Banks’ net investments, meanwhile, totalled P6.56 trillion which was 18.41 percent higher than same period last year of P5.54 trillion. Total net ROPA also increased by 8.94 percent to P104.18 billion versus P95.63 trillion in 2022. The banking system’s net total loan portfolio as of end-January was at P11.92 trillion, up 10.98 percent from same period in 2022 of P10.74 trillion. The BSP said the banking sector’s credit or lending standards are generally unchanged for both business and household loans in 2022 and this is expected to continue in the first three months of 2023. According to the latest Senior Bank Loan Officers’ Survey (SLOS), overall loan demand for the rest of the year are expected to improve. But for the first three months of 2023, the central bank said majority of surveyed banks anticipate a generally unchanged loan demand from businesses and households.  The BSP as of end-2022 monitors and supervises 45 big banks, 43 thrift banks and 403 rural/cooperative banks. In 2022, the BSP has approved six digital banks as a new bank category.