By Anna Leah Gonzales
MANILA – The total resources of the Philippine financial system recorded a double-digit growth as of end- August this year, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.
Preliminary data from the BSP showed that total resources which include funds and assets such as deposits, capital, bonds or debt securities, increased by 11.1 percent to PHP38.56 trillion in August, from PHP34.69 trillion in August last year.
Broken down, resources of the banking system went up by 12.5 percent to PHP32.16 trillion from the previous year’s PHP28.58 trillion.
Universal and commercial banks, which also recorded a double-digit increase of 11.8 percent to PHP29.77 trillion, accounted for the bulk of the total resources during the period.
Resources of thrift banks rose by 11.7 percent to PHP1.5 trillion.
Digital banks’ resources also went up to PHP225 billion from PHP149 billion in August last year.
Resources of rural and cooperative banks which reached PHP623.9 billion, also increased by over 46 percent.
Meanwhile, resources of non-bank financial institutions — which include financing companies, investment companies, securities dealers or brokers, pawnshops, lending investors, non-stock savings and loan associations — rose by 4.6 percent to PHP6.39 trillion.
The BSP said non-bank financial institutions also include the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System and private insurance companies.
“This is very much consistent with the growth in bank loans as seen in recent months as some borrowers lock in loans before interest rates go up further,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation chief economist Michael Ricafort said in a Viber message.
