The Philippine banking system’s total assets climbed by 6.4 percent to ₱27.26 trillion as of end-May from ₱25.62 trillion a year ago, driven mainly by sustained double-digit growth in bank lending and continued expansion in deposits.

Preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that the combined assets of domestic banks rose ₱1.64 trillion year-on-year at end-May, continuing an upward trend with a 1.4 percent increase from ₱26.89 trillion in April.

Banks’ assets are primarily supported by deposits, loans, and investments, including cash, balances due from other banks, interbank loans receivable (IBL), and reverse repurchase (RRP), net of credit loss provisions.

The sector’s total loan portfolio, inclusive of IBL and RRP, jumped by 12.7 percent to P15.12 trillion from P13.42 trillion in the same period a year earlier.

Net investments, which include financial assets and equity holdings in subsidiaries, increased by 6.6 percent to ₱7.96 trillion as of end-May from ₱7.47 trillion a year earlier.

Net real and other properties acquired (ROPA) jumped by 11.9 percent year-on-year to ₱121.1 billion from ₱108.2 billion last year.

Meanwhile, cash and due from banks fell sharply by 26.4 percent to ₱1.98 trillion as of end-May from ₱2.69 trillion a year earlier.

Other assets of the banking industry increased by 7.8 percent to ₱2.08 trillion in May 2025 from ₱1.93 trillion in the same month last year.

Meanwhile, the total liabilities of the banking system reached ₱23.79 trillion as of end-May, up by 5.7 percent from ₱22.50 trillion a year earlier.

Deposits accounted for the bulk or 84.3 percent of banks’ liabilities, rising to ₱20.06 trillion as of end-May from ₱19.11 trillion a year earlier. Of the total deposits, peso-denominated accounts amounted to ₱16.59 trillion, while foreign currency deposits reached ₱3.47 trillion.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort said that “the continued growth in banks’ assets largely brought about and reflected by the sustained double-digit growth in loans and continued growth in bank deposits.”

Ricafort noted that the growth in both lending and deposits outpaced the country’s overall economic growth, which accelerated by 5.4 percent in the first quarter of the year. He attributed this to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) cumulative 1.25-percent cut in key borrowing cost since last year, spurring credit demand.

Ricafort said this continued growth in banks’ total assets also “reflect continued growth in banks’ earnings, as one of the most profitable industries in the country.”