Despite lingering upside risks to inflation, China Banking Corp. (Chinabank) expects the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to conclude its rate-hiking cycle this August, arguing that second-round inflation effects have largely dissipated. The projection follows a third consecutive month of...
Economic growth in the second quarter of 2026 may have slowed further to a post-pandemic low as Filipinos pumped the brakes on borrowing and spending, while public expenditure remained lackluster. In a report obtained by the Manila Bulletin, US financial giant Goldman Sachs Group Inc. noted that...
Elevated inflation, sluggish state spending, and rising import costs may have dragged Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) growth down to 2.5 percent in the second quarter, slowing further from an already five-year low of 2.8 percent in the previous quarter. Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank AG...
Labor groups, environmentalists, and indigenous communities facing displacement risks are aggressively pushing back against the plan to build the high-value Pax Silica AI industrial hub. Red flags have been raised over the looming strain on New Clark City’s water, land, and power supplies....
Private-sector economists are divided over the trajectory of Philippine inflation in July, though they broadly agree that lingering climate risks, geopolitical tensions, and a weaker peso will compel the central bank to keep interest rates elevated. Forecasts for July headline consumer prices span...
Local businesses grew less pessimistic about economic activity in June, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), with the year-ahead outlook becoming more upbeat from the previous month. Businesses have generally grown “more optimistic” about the economic environment by mid-2027,...
Lending growth at the country’s big banks slowed to a four-month low in June as corporate borrowers and households took a more cautious approach, dampening overall demand for credit. Outstanding loans issued by universal and commercial banks (U/KBs) expanded 9.8 percent from a year earlier to...
The central bank expects consumer price growth to have slowed to a three-month low in July, driven by cheaper staple foods, even as a weakening currency and elevated energy costs threaten to sustain inflationary pressures. Headline inflation likely settled between 5.6 percent and 6.6 percent in...
My colleagues and I—alumni of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Department of Finance (DOF), and the financial markets beats—almost always look forward to having lunch or dinner with the premier resident of Room 501. Yes, Virginia, it’s always a privilege to have up-close and...
Roughly one in three senior banking officials expects corporate credit demand to increase in the third quarter of the year as business clients seek additional financing to expand operations, according to a survey released by the central bank. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that...
A “triple threat” of crude oil prices topping $80 per barrel, Metro Manila’s ₱85 daily wage hike, and severe El Niño conditions could push third-quarter Philippine inflation back to levels seen during the height of the Middle East crisis and prompt the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has increased the maximum transaction limit for InstaPay for Business tenfold—from ₱50,000 to ₱500,000—a move expected to streamline commercial transfers across the country. The cap increase is part of a suite of new digital payment services launched on...
