Renewed Houthi attacks in the Red Sea are seen aggravating oil price- and supply-driven inflation pressures in the Philippines stemming from the ongoing war in the Middle East. “While the direct effect of renewed strikes on shipping in the Red Sea on aggregate world trade is likely to be limited,...
Singapore-based United Overseas Bank Ltd. (UOB) expects the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to keep key interest rates unchanged this year, despite rising risks to growth and inflation from the ongoing war in the Middle East. “Amid persistent uncertainty over the Middle East conflict, we expect...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is facing mounting pressure to abandon its steady policy stance as domestic and foreign lenders warn that persistent supply shocks are beginning to seep into the broader economy. A growing chorus of economists expects the BSP to raise its benchmark interest...
Foreign lenders are backing the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) increasingly hawkish stance as the local economy grapples with war-driven oil price volatility and supply disruptions. Nomura Holdings Inc., a Japanese investment and brokerage giant, raised its expectations for “significant”...
Even as foreign lenders expect the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to tighten sooner rather than later, as inflation could breach what is deemed manageable this year, the central bank decided to keep the policy rate unchanged in a rare off-cycle meeting on Thursday, March 26. While inflation is...
MEDIUM RARE Once upon a time, on the top floor of the old Hilton Hotel in Malate, Manila, waiters served lunch (or sometimes a very late breakfast) to a group of four gentlemen whom they referred to as the “knights of the round table.” They were not knights and it was not a round table, but...
Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go assumed his seat on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) policy-making Monetary Board on Thursday, Jan. 8. Go, who was designated by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as the Cabinet representative to the board, was sworn in by BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. at the...
Executive Secretary Ralph G. Recto is set to recommend his successor as the government’s representative on the powerful seven-member Monetary Board (MB) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), naming newly appointed Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go for the influential post. Recto, who...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is expected to deliver a quarter-point interest rate cut next month, but an economist warned the move would not restore lost government credibility or offset the impact of corruption amid expectations of further economic slowdown. Union Bank of the Philippines...
Imagine a surgeon who doesn’t know human anatomy; that’s what it’s like to manage money without financial literacy. Understanding how money works is essential, because money matters not just today, but for a sustainable future. This is why the third edition of the Manila Bulletin’s...
Despite recent pronouncements by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) that one more policy rate cut before year-end would maintain the “Goldilocks” level, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) still forecasts two more reductions at each of the two remaining Monetary Board (MB) interest rate...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has formally dismissed two supervisors found to have been involved in falsifying the attendance records of four employees, marking the latest development in an internal scandal that also led to the resignation of two Monetary Board (MB) members last year. In a...
