Philippine economic growth would continue to underperform this year and next as the country faces not only headwinds from a prolonged war in the Middle East but also domestic challenges related to politics and corruption, according to the Institute of International Finance (IIF). The IIF’s latest...
Let’s get away from the telenovela drama of the Senate with its shifting power dynamics and lingering public doubt and growing dismay—as well as the choppy trend in the cost of crude oil per barrel in the international market and its trickle-down negative effects on our way of life. Not that it...
Private employers can now claim a dual tax deduction if they match or exceed the retirement contributions of their employees, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said, as policymakers seek to deepen the domestic capital market and boost corporate participation in the country’s voluntary savings...
Philippine financial system’s total resources swelled to ₱37.45 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, fueled by resilient banking sector that managed to outpace macroeconomic headwinds and heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng...
State-run Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC), which manages the country’s first sovereign wealth fund (SWF), grew its total comprehensive income by 2.3 percent to ₱2.74 billion last year from ₱2.68 billion in 2024 as business income rose despite higher expenses. Based on MIC’s latest...
Prolonged conflict in the Middle East would stretch the resources of oil importers like the Philippines and further hurt consumers already reeling from elevated prices, according to think tank Capital Economics. In a May 14 report by its global economics team, Capital Economics said that under an...
Global debt watcher Fitch Ratings expects Philippine banks to face increasing costs as they write off unpaid debts and prepare for future losses while navigating an increasingly uncertain geopolitical and economic environment caused by the Middle East war. This outlook comes even as the Bangko...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is pushing to integrate mandatory sustainability and climate-related reporting standards into the domestic banking sector as early as 2027, aligning the country’s financial system with international governance benchmarks. The initiative builds on existing...
The World Bank warned that the Philippines’ broad-based economic slowdown in the first quarter of 2026 could spill over into weaker household incomes and higher food prices as the country grapples with an escalating energy price shock triggered by tensions in the Middle East. In its latest...
Japanese financial giant MUFG Bank Ltd. revealed that the Philippine peso has emerged as the worst-performing currency in Asia since the flare-up of deepening military tensions between the United States (US) and Iran. According to data monitored by MUFG covering 11 Asian currencies, the peso has...
The Philippines’ balance of payments (BOP) deficit widened to a record $7.41 billion in the first four months of the year, driven by the persistent trade imbalance and volatile capital flows that have rapidly depleted the nation’s dollar reserves. The cumulative four-month deficit has already...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will grant a reprieve from penalties to rural and cooperative lenders adjusting to the more rigorous credit and equity reporting system, part of an ongoing effort to sharpen oversight of the financial sector’s risk exposures. BSP Deputy Governor Lyn I. Javier...
