The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that domestic claims of other financial corporations reached ₱10.07 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2024, slightly increasing due to higher bank deposits.

Preliminary results from the other Financial Corporations Survey (OFCS) showed that domestic claims of other financial corporations rose by two percent in the last three months of 2024. This increase was from ₱9.87 trillion in the third quarter and ₱8.94 trillion in the fourth quarter a year ago.

According to the BSP, the quarterly growth in the domestic claims of other financial corporations was “primarily driven by an increase in their claims on depository corporations, particularly in the form of bank deposits.”

Depository corporations include the BSP and other depository corporations, which are deposit-taking institutions, excluding the central bank.

However, the increase in domestic claims was partly offset by a decline in claims on the central government and other sectors, which include state and local governments, public nonfinancial corporations, and the private sector.

“Claims on the central government declined due to lower holdings of government-issued debt securities,” the BSP reported. 

“Likewise, claims on other sectors fell as the reduction in investments in equity shares issued by other nonfinancial corporations more than offset the increase in loans extended to households,” it added. 

Net foreign assets of other financial corporations fell by 4.2 percent quarter-on-quarter to ₱465.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024. 

“This decline was due primarily to a decrease in deposits with nonresident banks and investments in nonresident-issued debt securities,” the BSP said. 

Meanwhile, other liabilities rose by nearly two percent to ₱10.54 trillion, mainly due to higher share and other equity issuances.

Year-on-year, domestic claims of other financial corporations rose by almost 13 percent in quarter-four 2024, up from nearly 12 percent in the third quarter, driven mainly by “higher claims on depository corporations, other sectors, and the central government.”

Increased bank deposits drove the rise in claims on depository corporations, the BSP said. Claims on other sectors also grew, supported by more equity investments in non-financial firms and a rise in household lending. 

Meanwhile, claims on the central government went up due to greater investments in government debt papers.

The net foreign assets of other financial corporations grew by nearly 21 percent annually in the fourth quarter of 2024, easing from the over 31 percent growth in the previous quarter. 

Meanwhile, the sector’s other liabilities increased by 13 percent, mainly due to a rise in share and equity issuances.

In the last quarter of 2024, most of the domestic claims of other financial corporations were directed toward other nonfinancial corporations, followed by claims on banks and the central government.