BSP's foreign currency deposits fall 52%


The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) foreign currency and deposits overseas decreased by 52.3 percent as of the end of November 2024 to $1.877 billion compared to $3.938 billion same time in 2023.

BSP data showed that currency and deposits in other foreign banks fell by 58.6 percent to $1.070 billion from $2.588 billion end-November 2023. These are banks identified by the BSP as “banks headquartered outside” of the Philippines.

Meanwhile, currency and deposits to other central banks, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Bank for International Settlements (BIS) also declined by 40.18 percent to $807.81 million compared to $1.35 billion in 2023.

BSP’s foreign currency and deposits are included in the country’s US dollar reserves or the gross international reserves (GIR). As of end-December last year, the GIR stood at $106.26 billion, up from $103.75 billion in 2023.

The data on total currency and deposits, while part of GIR, is not disclosed along with the GIR when the reserves data is released to the public.

As explained by the BSP, a GIR is considered adequate if it can finance at least three-months’ worth of the country’s imports of goods and payments of services and primary income. In addition, a country’s US dollar reserves is sufficient if it allows 100 percent cover for both public and private foreign liabilities that will mature within the next 12 months.

The latest GIR level is considered an adequate external liquidity buffer equivalent to 7.5 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income. It is also about 3.7 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity, said the BSP.

The BSP’s reserve assets are composed of gold, foreign investments, foreign exchange, reserve position in the IMF, and special drawing rights or SDRs in the IMF.

At the end of 2024, BSP’s foreign investments amounted to $90.022 billion, down from $91.304 billion in end-November last year but higher than end-2023’s $87.854 billion.

Gold reserves reached $11.005 billion, slightly lower than the previous month’s $11.026 billion and from 2023’s $10.557 billion.

The BSP’s foreign exchange holdings also declined to $1.373 billion end-December compared to $1.728 billion in end-November but more than the $770 million at the close of 2023.

As for the reserve position in the IMF and SDRs, this totaled $675 million and $3.760 billion, respectively, compared to the previous year’s $760 million and $3.809 billion.