Single-digit expansion in both banks’ and nonbanks’ resources drove the total resources of the Philippine financial system up by more than ₱2 trillion to ₱35.31 trillion in the first 10 months of 2025.

The latest preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that resources held by banks and nonbank financial institutions (NBFIs) increased by ₱2.23 trillion, or 6.8 percent, to ₱35.31 trillion from ₱33.08 trillion in the same period in 2024.

However, the end-October figure dropped by 1.3 percent from end-September’s ₱35.78 trillion. These resources include funds and assets such as deposits, capital, and bonds or debt securities.

Banks’ resources increased by ₱1.96 trillion, or 7.2 percent, to ₱29.21 trillion as of end-October from ₱27.25 trillion a year ago. Banks’ resources accounted for 82.7 percent of the financial system’s total.

Broken down, big banks—or universal and commercial banks—held resources valued at ₱27.13 trillion, rising 6.4 percent from last year’s ₱25.49 trillion.

Thrift banks’ resources reached ₱1.42 trillion since January, jumping 24 percent from ₱1.15 trillion a year earlier.

Meanwhile, rural and cooperative banks’ total resources rose 1.5 percent, exceeding half a trillion pesos as of end-October, expanding to ₱505.9 billion from ₱498.3 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Resources of digital banks, which had the lowest value given their number, jumped by more than a third to ₱155 billion from ₱113.8 billion a year ago.

NBFIs, accounting for 17.3 percent of the system’s total resources as of end-October, held ₱6.1 trillion in resources. This increased by 4.7 percent from ₱5.83 trillion in end-October 2024. End-October 2025 data for nonbanks remained incomplete.

Nonbanks include investment houses, finance companies, securities dealers, pawnshops, and lending companies.

According to the central bank, NBFIs also include nonstock savings and loan associations, credit card firms, private insurance firms, and state-run insurers—the Social Security System (SSS) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) senior research fellow John Paolo Rivera said the resource expansion of the country’s financial system reflects “continued deposit inflows, balance-sheet expansion by banks and nonbanks, and valuation effects as institutions accumulated government securities and other financial assets amid expectations of lower interest rates.”

Rivera added that the growth was also supported by positive loan growth, despite moving at a slower rate, and the public’s improved attitude toward “safer and regulated financial assets.”

“Moving forward, resource growth should remain steady but moderate,” said the state policy think tank’s economist. “As policy rates ease, deposits and investment assets are likely to keep growing, but the pace will depend on how quickly loan demand recovers and confidence improves.”