Philippine banks expanded their collective balance sheets to a record high in the first two months of the year, driven by the surge in lending and shifts into government securities as lenders maintained a cautious but growth-oriented posture. Preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas...
Senator Joel Villanueva has called on banks to strictly implement the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) decision on waiving digital fund transfer fees alongside its loan relief measures for borrowers hit by the ongoing energy crisis. Villanueva, chairman of the Senate Committee on Banks,...
Eight Philippine lenders have secured spots on the World’s Best Banks 2026 list compiled by Forbes and Statista, a ranking where agile digital-native banks claimed the top positions even as traditional giants maintained their edge in trustworthiness among Filipino depositors. MariBank Philippines...
To manage risks tied to the growing Peso Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) payment system, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is drafting a policy to establish formal governance for stricter handling of member banks and nonbanks. According to the 2025 Peso RTGS Payment System Report published...
Philippine banks face a potential surge in sour loans as escalating tensions in the Middle East threaten to disrupt the domestic economy and weaken the repayment capacity of households, according to S&P Global Ratings. Nikita Anand, S&P Global Ratings director and lead analyst for South and...
The local banking system faces a more severe threat from escalating Middle East tensions than in previous economic shocks, as a pivot toward lending to small businesses and consumers creates new pockets of vulnerability, according to Fitch Ratings. Jonathan Cornish, Fitch Ratings managing director...
Philippine banks’ bad loan ratio climbed to 3.33 percent in February, marking its highest level in six months—a level that remains manageable but still warrants closer monitoring if higher interest rates persist. According to the latest Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data, the banking...
Belem, Brazil – In the glare of COP30’s global spotlight, negotiators wrestle to forge a hard-edged Roadmap for Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels (TAFF). Yet right outside the conference halls lies an unfiltered contradiction: an epicenter where fossil fuel investments are still surging,...
“I was thrilled,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor for regional operations and advocacy sector, Bernadette “Berna” Romulo-Puyat, unabashedly shared her feelings about her close encounter with US Federal Reserve (US Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell. DG Berna was among the...
While closer ties to large conglomerates provide Philippine banks with ample capital and lending opportunities, these direct connections also increase lending risks within the groups, and financial distress at the conglomerate level could have a profound impact on the banks. “Financial distress...
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr. said that further cuts in banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR) may happen next year as the central bank looks to ramp up its liquidity management and make the yield curve more reliable. “It might be for next year. We are trying to...
The Philippines' relatively lower reciprocal tariffs, to be levied by the United States (US) on imports, will shield domestic banks from larger losses due to the economic fallout, according to the debt watcher Moody's Ratings. Across the Asia-Pacific region, where many countries will be slapped...
