Business NEWS

Incoming Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno wants to put in place a formal fiscal plan that will take control of government expenditures, set clear borrowing and revenue programs, as well as design policies to manage budget deficits in the next six-years.

The Marcos administration has no plan to reduce government spending to temper the nation’s ballooning debt load, the incoming chief of the Department of Finance (DOF) said on Monday, June 6.

President-elect Marcos’ chief economic manager has high hopes for incoming Socioeconomic Planning Arsenio M. Balisacan, describing the latter as the “poverty guru” of the next administration tasked to bring down the nation’s poverty rate to single-digit.

The Marcos administration can attain the Philippines’ first “A” credit rating status within two years as long as it has a credible and doable fiscal consolidation program, the incoming chief economic manager said.

Incoming Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno would seek for consensus among lawmakers and members of the executive department before pursuing the Marcos administration’s own fiscal consolidation plan.

Instead of new and higher taxes, the incoming chief of the Department of Finance (DOF) wants to focus mainly on the government’s tax administration during the first year of President-elect Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

The deceleration in price increases last January was a welcome development, but the Department of Finance (DOF) warned that the economy should still keep a close watch on oil price movements.

The research arm of credit rater Fitch Group has maintained its bearish stance on the Philippine peso, as it expects the local currency to even weaken as accommodative policy stances and a worsening current account weigh on the local currency.

The national government will repay the full amount of its cash advances to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) ahead of the January maturity date, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.

President Duterte’s economic managers will meet this week with the foreign chambers of commerce to tackle the country’s recovery initiatives and present their investment priority sectors.

Consumer prices last month rose near the lower end of a government forecast owing to slower increase in food prices, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) reported on Friday, Nov. 5.

Benchmark interest rates moved sideways on Monday, Oct. 18, as yields for the three-month and one-year IOUs resumed their increase, while the six-month paper marginally dropped.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is not inclined to increase the amount it lends to the national government on the back of the improving coronavirus situation in the country.

Big banks in the country remained well-capitalized despite the prolonged pandemic-induced crisis, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno could not emphasize more strongly how crucial the proposed bills on consumer protection are to ensure integrity and trust in the financial system.

Banks’ non-performing loan (NPL) ratio worsened to a 13-year high of 4.49 percent in May versus 4.35 percent in the previous month and from 2.43 percent same time in 2020, based on Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is exploring options on what to do with its six-hectare Security Plant Complex (SPC), currently valued at P8 billion, in Quezon City once it has relocated its printing facility in New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac.

The central bank’s Commercial Property Price Index (CPPI) is expected to be launched within the year and it will allow regulators to better monitor banks’ financial and real estate exposures, according to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno.