Pervasive corruption in the Philippines is preventing the country from realizing its full economic potential, despite President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. making “steady progress” on his reform agenda, according to the think tank Capital Economics. In its Asia Economic Outlook report for the...
Driven by the decline in condominium unit prices, housing price growth in Metro Manila grew at its slowest pace in one and a half years in the second quarter of the year, a sluggish rate not seen since property prices contracted in late 2023. According to the residential property price index (RPPI)...
Interested players planning to enter the Philippine market are given until Nov. 30 to complete their applications, as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will stop accepting digital banking license applications in December. This planned closure follows the policy-setting Monetary Board’s (MB)...
Long-term time deposits in the Philippine banking industry plummeted 95 percent in recent months, as Filipino depositors may have withdrawn or opted not to renew their placements following the removal of a key tax exemption. “So the five-years-plus-one-day time deposit product of our member...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported a decline in net earnings for the first half of the year, driven by steeper reduction in revenues than in expenses. Data from the BSP showed that the central bank’s net income fell by 17.8 percent to ₱70.3 billion in January to June this year, from...
A larger balance of payments (BOP) surplus in August narrowed the country’s cumulative deficit for the first eight months of the year to its lowest level in five months, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The latest data from the BSP showed that the BOP, which reflects the...
Two global banking giants have flagged political and fiscal challenges posing near-term risks to the Philippine economy, especially in the aftermath of a corruption scandal involving massive public spending on ineffective flood control projects in recent years. While “there is a strong pipeline...
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo "Ping" Lacson lauded on Saturday, Sept. 20, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas ' move to tighten the rules on large cash transactions by capping withdrawals at P500,000 per banking day. Lacson, who chairs the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee investigating the...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is placing a new constraint on large-value cash transactions, mandating that bank and non-bank financial institutions limit cash withdrawals and other payouts to a maximum of ₱500,000, or its foreign currency equivalent. According to BSP, the move, which is a...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) plans to overhaul its reporting governance framework by imposing higher penalties on banks based on their asset size for lapses in regulatory compliance. Instead of flagging reporting violations, the BSP is establishing clear criteria that banks should adhere...
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri expressed concern over the absence of any law that caps interest rates on online lending applications, warning that the gap leaves millions of Filipinos exposed to predatory practices. At the hearing of the Senate Committee on Games and...
The Philippines has been placed on a positive watchlist by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. for potential inclusion in its influential emerging market government bond index, a move that could attract a new wave of foreign investment and lower the nation 's borrowing costs. In a statement on Monday,...
