The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is moving to finalize a World Bank-backed roadmap for financial education this year, seeking to bolster the savings and investment habits of Filipinos as the country pursues deeper economic inclusion. In a May 14 statement, the BSP said the central bank is...
Four Asian economies—India, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Vietnam—are expected to outpace Philippine economic growth this year, as the country’s expansion remains muted amid pressures from overheating inflation, rising unemployment, and slowing remittances. American financial giant Goldman Sachs...
The husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, lawyer Manases R. Carpio, has added the heads of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Insurance Commission (IC) as respondents in a criminal complaint over the alleged illegal disclosure of bank records. In an addendum filed before the...
Zobel-led Ayala Corp. saw its core net income edge lower in the first quarter of 2026 as the downturn in its real estate business tempered gains in banking and telecommunications. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the country’s oldest conglomerate reportd reported core net...
Bank of Commerce (BankCom), the banking arm of Ramon Ang’s diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp., reported a 13 percent increase in first-quarter net income as higher interest rates and robust lending activity offset a slump in trading gains triggered by geopolitical tensions. In a disclosure...
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has entered into a new partnership with Security Bank Corp. aimed at expanding access to supply-chain financing for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Philippines. In a statement on Tuesday, May 12, the ADB said it signed a risk participation agreement (RPA)...
Tonik, the holder of BSP Digital Banking License No. 001 and the Philippines’ first standalone digital bank, has reached a defining milestone: sustained profitability. The company generated consolidated positive cash net income (after all costs including cost of risk) in Q1 2026, becoming the...
Lending by big banks, or universal and commercial banks (U/KBs), closed the first quarter on an upbeat note as it accelerated to a seven-month high in March, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). This came as the sector provided “even stronger support for the production activities...
International Finance Corp. (IFC) has approved its planned investments in two private equity (PE) funds that are eyeing investments in the Philippines and the broader Southeast Asian region. In disclosures last May 7 and April 24, respectively, the World Bank Group’s (WBG) private-sector lending...
The research arm of Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank sees a “ super ” El Niño developing from this month until July, threatening to further accelerate the surge in Philippine consumer prices already aggravated by the Middle East war. Deutsche Bank Research hiked its inflation assumption for...
Zobel-led conglomerate Ayala Corp. has secured its first Singapore dollar-hedged loan through a $100 million (or Singapore dollar equivalent) sustainability-linked facility with DBS Bank Ltd. In a statement on Monday, May 11, Ayala said the facility further diversifies its funding sources while...
The World Bank has canceled part of the loans for the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) while as project scope was pared down with only five months left before its financing closes. A May 8 restructuring paper seen by Manila Bulletin showed that the Washington-based multilateral lender, effective Jan....
