To bolster the country’s climate resilience, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has proposed a major regulatory shift, slashing the credit risk weight for sustainable housing loans. Under the new draft circular, the risk weight for these eco-friendly financing arrangements will drop to 20...
The local banking system faces a more severe threat from escalating Middle East tensions than in previous economic shocks, as a pivot toward lending to small businesses and consumers creates new pockets of vulnerability, according to Fitch Ratings. Jonathan Cornish, Fitch Ratings managing director...
The peso is struggling to claw back losses despite the two-week ceasefire between the United States (US) and Iran, remaining an outlier in a regional currency recovery as markets focus on the country’s acute sensitivity to energy prices. While the brief cessation of hostilities sparked a relief...
While the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) remains firm on intervening in the foreign exchange (forex) market only when it becomes inflationary, its chief said this threshold has been lowered, citing the central bank’s credibility. BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr. told CNBC on Friday, April 10,...
Net inflows of brick-and-mortar foreign direct investments (FDI) in the Philippines fell to $443 million in January from $729 million a year ago, as rising geopolitical risks weighed on investor sentiment at the start of the year. This marks the lowest level in four months since the $316 million...
Philippine banks’ bad loan ratio climbed to 3.33 percent in February, marking its highest level in six months—a level that remains manageable but still warrants closer monitoring if higher interest rates persist. According to the latest Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data, the banking...
Previously capping loan terms at five years at most, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has moved to amend this rule, proposing a principles-based approach where loan length will be based on a comprehensive assessment of a borrower’s creditworthiness. Under a draft circular, which is...
British banking giant Barclays sees the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) holding key interest rates steady at this month’s policy meeting before possibly hiking in June, in a bid to support the already weak economic growth outlook even prior to the war in the Middle East. “With the ceasefire...
British banking giant Barclays sees the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) holding key interest rates steady at this month’s policy meeting before possibly hiking in June, in a bid to support the already weak economic growth outlook even prior to the war in the Middle East. “With the ceasefire...
Continued vigilance over the persistent risks to the Philippine sovereign position is the vow the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has pledged after debt watcher S&P Global Ratings downgraded its outlook to ‘stable’ from ‘positive.’ S&P on Wednesday, April 9, revised the Philippines’...
The jump in the March inflation rate has set the stage for a potential 50-basis-point (bp) rate hike by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) during the second quarter, according to global investment banking giant Goldman Sachs. In an April 7 report obtained by Manila Bulletin, Goldman Sachs...
A double-digit decline in the previously record-high gold reserves, coupled with falling foreign investments, drove the Philippines’ gross international reserves (GIR)—the country’s stock of foreign currencies and other assets—to its lowest level in more than half a year last month. GIR...
