Amid escalating global trade uncertainty driven by tariffs, achieving upper-middle-income status may become more challenging for the Philippines in 2025 and 2026, delaying it further to later years, according to a World Bank economist. Gonzalo Varela, World Bank lead economist and program leader...
The Bank of the Philippine Islands, the Ayala Group’s financial services arm, is planning to raise ₱5 billion from a planned offering and issuance Peso-denominated fixed-rate BPI Supporting Inclusion, Nature, and Growth Bonds due 2026 (BPI SINAG Bonds). In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock...
Philippine National Bank posted a consolidated net income of ₱6.1 billion in the first three months of 2025, up by 15 percent against the same period last year due to the increase in its loan portfolio and treasury assets. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the bank said its core...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Sunday, April 28, said it is actively coordinating with CIMB Bank Philippines to address unauthorized fund transfers that have affected certain customers. Citing a statement issued by the digital-only commercial bank last Friday, April 26, CIMB Bank...
The Philippines and many of its Southeast Asian neighbors have been sluggish in tapping renewable energy (RE), according to the Manila-based multilateral lender Asian Development Bank (ADB). "In 2022, renewables—as a share of new power generation capacity installed—exceeded 75 percent in nine...
The Philippine government will shell out $7.4 billion, or about ₱415.9 billion, to co-finance with the World Bank an upcoming program aimed at making domestic agriculture sustainable. An appraisal program information document of the World Bank, dated April 24, said the Department of Agriculture's...
The Philippines has urged international financial institutions (IFIs) to increase their assistance to emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) amid escalating global challenges and risks. “International financial institutions, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund...
Amid a looming global trade war, the World Bank slashed its 2025 and 2026 growth forecasts for the Philippines to levels that would bring two-year economic expansion to their slowest pace post-pandemic. According to the Washington-based multilateral lender’s East Asia and Pacific Economic Update...
The Philippines received the second-biggest amount of loans and grants from the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) and its co-financing partners last year, mainly to bankroll big-ticket infrastructure projects. The ADB's Annual Report 2024, published on Thursday, April 24, showed that...
While the Philippines has made strides in reducing poverty, uncertainties wrought by the looming global trade war may reverse some gains, according to the World Bank. "Employment indicators suggest continued poverty reduction since 2023. The unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent in 2024 (from 4.4...
Maya, the country’s leading digital bank, achieved net income profitability in the first quarter of the year, driven by robust lending activity and continued growth in deposits and payments. Building on its strong financial momentum from December 2024, Maya’s deposits from January to March 2025...
The World Bank believes that an additional 5.1 million jobs can be created in the Philippines during the next 15 years if the country fast-tracks reforms conducive to labor market growth and enhancement. In an April 18 brief, the Washington-based multilateral lender said that an upcoming Country...
