Philippine banks face a potential surge in sour loans as escalating tensions in the Middle East threaten to disrupt the domestic economy and weaken the repayment capacity of households, according to S&P Global Ratings. Nikita Anand, S&P Global Ratings director and lead analyst for South and...
The local banking system faces a more severe threat from escalating Middle East tensions than in previous economic shocks, as a pivot toward lending to small businesses and consumers creates new pockets of vulnerability, according to Fitch Ratings. Jonathan Cornish, Fitch Ratings managing director...
Philippine banks’ bad loan ratio climbed to 3.33 percent in February, marking its highest level in six months—a level that remains manageable but still warrants closer monitoring if higher interest rates persist. According to the latest Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data, the banking...
Belem, Brazil – In the glare of COP30’s global spotlight, negotiators wrestle to forge a hard-edged Roadmap for Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels (TAFF). Yet right outside the conference halls lies an unfiltered contradiction: an epicenter where fossil fuel investments are still surging,...
“I was thrilled,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor for regional operations and advocacy sector, Bernadette “Berna” Romulo-Puyat, unabashedly shared her feelings about her close encounter with US Federal Reserve (US Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell. DG Berna was among the...
While closer ties to large conglomerates provide Philippine banks with ample capital and lending opportunities, these direct connections also increase lending risks within the groups, and financial distress at the conglomerate level could have a profound impact on the banks. “Financial distress...
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr. said that further cuts in banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR) may happen next year as the central bank looks to ramp up its liquidity management and make the yield curve more reliable. “It might be for next year. We are trying to...
The Philippines' relatively lower reciprocal tariffs, to be levied by the United States (US) on imports, will shield domestic banks from larger losses due to the economic fallout, according to the debt watcher Moody's Ratings. Across the Asia-Pacific region, where many countries will be slapped...
Senator Raffy Tulfo called out the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the several lapses he observed in terms of regulating financial and lending companies' operation of their respective online lending applications (OLAs). Sen. Raffy Tulfo presides over the Subcommittee on Banks,...
Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada has filed a bill banning the issuance of pre-approved credit cards to individuals who did not apply for them. Although such practice is already provided under Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Circulars Nos. 702 and 845 issued on December...
Interested players aiming to enter the Philippine digital banking sector must propose innovative business models and address specific market needs, according to a senior official from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). “The requirement from the governor and the Monetary Board [MB] is that...
Mactan, Cebu — Digicentric financial institutions operating like digital banks should be regulated the same way to address market arbitrage, a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) official said. "If you're already behaving like a digital bank, you should be regulated like a digital bank, not like a...
