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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Banking & Finance devider Philippine financial resources climb to new ₱36-trillion high

Philippine financial resources climb to new ₱36-trillion high

Published Mar 18, 2026 01:53 pm
Local financial system’s total resources climbed to ₱36.33 trillion in the first month of the year, a 7.3 percent expansion fueled by the sustained dominance of the nation’s largest lenders and an aggressive growth spurt in the digital banking sector.
According to preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the figure represents a ₱2.47 trillion increase from the ₱33.86 trillion recorded in January 2025.
The central bank’s tally includes a broad range of assets such as deposits, capital, and debt securities held by both traditional banks and non-bank financial institutions.
At end-January, banking institutions remained the bedrock of the system, accounting for 82.9 percent of total resources. The sector’s asset base grew by 7.7 percent to reach ₱30.10 trillion by the end of January 2026, up from ₱27.95 trillion a year earlier.
Within this segment, universal and commercial banks—the country’s largest lenders—held ₱27.90 trillion in resources, marking a 6.8 percent rise from the ₱26.14 trillion reported in the same period last year.
Mid-sized thrift banks outperformed the broader market in terms of pace, recording a 26.3 percent surge in resources to ₱1.46 trillion from ₱1.16 trillion. However, the most rapid acceleration occurred in the digital banking space.
Resources for digital lenders jumped 39.8 percent to ₱174.7 billion from ₱125 billion, reflecting the continued shift toward branchless finance in the archipelago. Rural and cooperative banks also contributed to the upward trend, with resources rising 7.2 percent to ₱565 billion.
Non-bank financial institutions, which comprise 17.1 percent of the system, saw their resources grow 5.2 percent to ₱6.23 trillion. This category encompasses a wide array of entities, including investment houses, financing companies, securities brokers, pawnshops, and state-run insurers like the Social Security System and the Government Service Insurance System.
The central bank noted that the figures for rural banks and non-bank institutions in the January report reflect data as of the end of September 2025.
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