Philippines’ total financial system resources rose to P33.075 trillion as of end-September this year, up 10 percent from P30.049 trillion same time in 2023 on the back of sustained growth in assets, loans, deposits, and net income.

Financial resources are held by banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) as funds and assets in the form of capital and bonds or debt securities. Banks control about 83 percent of the country’s total financial resources.

Based on Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data, the banking sector accounted for P27.55 trillion of the total resources, higher by 11 percent compared to end-September 2023 of P24.802 trillion.

Of the P27.55 trillion total resources, the big banks or the 44 universal and commercial banks have about P25.818 trillion. This was 11.15 percent higher compared to same time in 2023 of P23.228 trillion.

The country’s 41 thrift banks as of end-September accounted for a smaller P1.141 trillion which was 7.3 percent more than the previous year’s P1.063 trillion.

The six digital banks hold P111.8 billion of total resources versus P84.8 billion same period last year or an increase of 31.8 percent.

Meanwhile, there is a lag period in tallying the resources of rural banks and cooperative banks. As of end-June, the 386 rural banks and 22 cooperative banks contributed P478.9 billion to total resources, up by 12.47 percent from P425.8 billion same time in 2023.

NBFIs or non-banks, on the other hand, also have a lag period and the latest data is end-June as well. The non-banks accounted for P5.524 trillion of total resources during the period, up by 5.28 percent from P5.247 trillion in 2023.

NBFIs are investment houses, finance companies, investment companies, securities dealers/brokers, pawnshops and lending investors. Non Stocks Savings and Loan Associations (NSSLAs), credit card companies under BSP supervision, private insurance firms, Social Security System and the Government Service Insurance System are also classified as NBFIs.

Presently, the BSP is supervising 1,526 NBFIs without quasi-banking function. These are investment firms, NSSLAs and pawnshops. Only five NBFIs have quasi-banking function which means they can borrow funds from 20 or more lenders. These include investment houses with trusts business, financing companies, among others.

Based on the latest central bank report on the domestic financial system, the strong and resilient banking sector continue to support the expansion of the domestic economy.

The banking sector has a deposit base of P19.5 trillion as of end-June, up 9.5 percent year-on-year. Its capital base of P3.2 trillion was also up by 10.6 percent year-on-year. The BSP said banks’ profitable operations contributed to their robust capitalization.

As of end-September, the banking system’s consolidated earnings increased by 6.41 percent year-on-year to P290.05 billion.

The solid income performance was further supported by “ample capital and liquidity buffers that exceeded domestic and global standards, allowing banks to support their expanding operations and risk-taking activities,” according to the BSP.