The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has proposed requiring Islamic banking units (IBUs) operated by conventional banks to either transition into full-fledged Islamic banks or comply with universal bank capital requirements within five years.Under a newly proposed circular, the central bank has set...
Net inflows of brick-and-mortar foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Philippines amounted to $529 million in February, marking a steep 61.9-percent decline from the $1.4 billion recorded in the same month last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported.FDI net inflows last February...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) could mandate that all banks, e-wallets, and clearing houses adopt the internationally accepted ISO 20022 messaging standard, modernizing domestic payment systems and aligning with global financial protocols.In a draft circular dated April 2025, the BSB noted...
Government spending related to the May 12 midterm elections—frontloaded expenditures prior to the polls as well as the resumption of delayed projects due to the election ban—would likely spill over into the second quarter and support first-half economic growth, economists said."While the...
Another 25-basis-point (bp) interest rate cut by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is widely expected at its monetary policy meeting next month, as inflation slides and economic growth weakens.In a May 9 report, Deutsche Bank Research said the lower-than-expected 5.4-percent gross domestic...
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona Jr. has warned that trade shocks are more damaging than supply shocks—as they can shrink the country’s capital stock and slow growth—which monetary policy is not equipped to address.Remolona said at the International Monetary Fund (IMF)...
Union Bank of the Philippines and the ATRAM Group have finalized their partnership, aiming to revolutionize the Philippine asset management landscape by merging their trust operations and leveraging digital innovation. Under the agreement, UnionBank will acquire a 27.5 percent stake in ATR Asset...
The coast isn 't clear yet for domestic inflation, as Singapore-based United Overseas Bank (UOB) sees looming United States (US) tariffs as a global price risk for an economy like the Philippines, which imports the bulk of the goods it consumes."The US reciprocal tariffs after the 90-day pause...
With headline inflation falling to its lowest level in over five years, local and international financial institutions now expect the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to cut key interest rates by a total of 75 basis points (bps) by year-end, with the first reduction likely as early as the upcoming...
Robust government spending ahead of the May 12 elections likely sped up economic growth in the first quarter, despite private consumption largely being in wait-and-see mode as Filipinos save up, according to the research arm of global financial giant Deutsche Bank.In a May 3 report received by...
Inflation would likely fall to a five-year low in 2025, providing policy space for more interest rate cuts supportive of economic growth, according to the think tank Capital Economics."We expect GDP [gross domestic product] growth in the Philippines to remain relatively strong in 2025, helped by...
Citing a slowdown in food inflation alongside a stronger peso, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has forecast that the April headline inflation may fall below the government’s two- to four-percent target band—potentially the slowest rate in over half a decade.Specifically, the central bank...
