Global debt watcher Fitch Ratings expects Philippine banks to face increasing costs as they write off unpaid debts and prepare for future losses while navigating an increasingly uncertain geopolitical and economic environment caused by the Middle East war. This outlook comes even as the Bangko...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is pushing to integrate mandatory sustainability and climate-related reporting standards into the domestic banking sector as early as 2027, aligning the country’s financial system with international governance benchmarks. The initiative builds on existing...
The World Bank warned that the Philippines’ broad-based economic slowdown in the first quarter of 2026 could spill over into weaker household incomes and higher food prices as the country grapples with an escalating energy price shock triggered by tensions in the Middle East. In its latest...
Japanese financial giant MUFG Bank Ltd. revealed that the Philippine peso has emerged as the worst-performing currency in Asia since the flare-up of deepening military tensions between the United States (US) and Iran. According to data monitored by MUFG covering 11 Asian currencies, the peso has...
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) has tapped Sandy Arespacochaga as head coach of the national team’s U18 women’s squad which will vie in the 2026 FIBA Women’s U-18 Asia Cup SEABA Qualifiers next month. Arespacochaga, a well-respected mentor in the collegiate and professional ranks,...
The Philippines’ balance of payments (BOP) deficit widened to a record $7.41 billion in the first four months of the year, driven by the persistent trade imbalance and volatile capital flows that have rapidly depleted the nation’s dollar reserves. The cumulative four-month deficit has already...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will grant a reprieve from penalties to rural and cooperative lenders adjusting to the more rigorous credit and equity reporting system, part of an ongoing effort to sharpen oversight of the financial sector’s risk exposures. BSP Deputy Governor Lyn I. Javier...
Mayor Ruffy Biazon unveiled the newly renovated fourth floor of the city-run Ospital ng Muntinlupa in Barangay Alabang on May 18. “Mas maliwanag ang wards, mas maaliwalas ang mga kwarto, malamig ang aircon, at mas maayos na ang facilities para sa patients at healthcare workers (The wards are...
Philippine banks shrugged off the sharp reversal in foreign-exchange trading to post a 2.9 percent increase in net income in the first quarter of the year, driven by higher interest income and the steady expansion in their loan portfolios. Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that...
The Quezon City government launched on Monday, May 18, “QCitizen Data: Resibo ng Serbisyo,” a digital transparency platform that allows residents and other stakeholders to monitor public spending and government projects in real time. Speaking during the launch at the QC MICE Center as part of...
De La Salle University (DLSU) economists slashed their 2026 Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 3.11 percent from 3.79 percent previously, warning that the economy is facing mounting pressure from the Middle East conflict, elevated inflation, and lingering domestic...
The peso’s descent to unprecedented lows is facing a volatile new headwind, with MUFG Bank Ltd. warning that an escalating political feud between the nation’s two most powerful dynasties threatens to upend investor confidence. The Japanese financial institution said that the deepening rift...
