Sharp declines in foreign exchange (forex) holdings and foreign investments drove the Philippines’ gross international reserves (GIR)—the country’s stock of foreign currencies and other reserve assets—to their lowest level in 15 months in April. GIR stood at $104.1 billion at end-April, the...
The Philippine banking system remains largely insulated from the escalating geopolitical volatility in the Middle East, bolstered by record asset levels and capital buffers that have outpaced the nation’s broader economic growth, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). In its latest...
British banking giant HSBC is now leaning toward back-to-back jumbo interest rate hikes that could lift policy rates to six percent, as signs of de-escalation in Middle East tensions remain muted—potentially forcing the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to add another layer to its...
An off-cycle policy meeting by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) could signal to investors that the central bank is falling behind the inflation curve, potentially triggering further market volatility, according to a former senior policymaker. Diwa Guinigundo, a former BSP deputy governor who...
Samarkand, UZBEKISTAN — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said central banks should be cautious about raising interest rates too quickly in response to supply shock-driven inflation, even as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is now widely expected to tighten monetary policy further after April...
Local monetary authorities face the growing challenge to stabilize surging consumer prices as the initial pass-through of global oil inflation threatens to push the headline rate into double digits by the fourth quarter of the year. The mounting risk that inflation expectations could become...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is facing mounting pressure to deliver a more aggressive interest rate hike or a rare off-cycle move after inflation surged to a three-year high in April. British banking giant Barclays is now pricing in three consecutive 25-basis-point increases, which would...
Philippine banks not enrolled in the Peso Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system have been allowed to directly withdraw high-value cash from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) during calamities and emergency situations. “Banks not registered in the Philippine Payment and Settlement System...
The peso is at risk of crumbling to a record low of ₱63 against the United States (US) dollar if a protracted Middle East conflict drives oil prices higher and forces Washington to adopt a more hawkish policy stance. Estimates by the Japanese financial giant MUFG Bank Ltd. show that in a risk...
Singapore-based DBS Bank Ltd. sees the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) potentially calling another off-cycle policy meeting in May, where an interest rate hike may now be on the table, as war-driven pressures continue to weigh on the peso and raise the risk of elevated consumer prices staying...
Philippine banks expect loan demand from Filipino entrepreneurs and households to remain steady in the second quarter of the year, according to the central bank, which said banks face a balancing act on lending rules amid the domestic spillover of the Middle East war. Results of the latest...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is overhauling its oversight of digital threats, ditching a legacy rating system in favor of a framework that forces banks to conduct more frequent and rigorous self-assessments of their cybersecurity defenses. This comes as BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr....
