Combined bank resources grow 13% to 114.96 T in Oct.

The country’s banking sector increased its total resources to R14.96 trillion as of end-October 2017, up 13.16 percent from the same period of the previous year, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) show.

The universal and commercial banks’ total resources amounted to R13.52 trillion which was higher by 13.56 percent yearon-year or from R11.90 trillion.

Thrift banks reported R1.199 trillion, up 10.40 percent from R1.086 trillion same period in 2016.

The entire financial sector had total resources of R18.193 trillion as of end-October last year, more than the previous year’s R16.444 trillion. These includes the data on non-banks and the smaller rural and cooperative banks, however the data on these sectors have lagged time of three to four months and are based on the submitted consolidated statement of condition.

The BSP-supervised nonbanks as of end-June had total resources of R3.229 trillion while the rural and cooperative banks have R244 billion. Non-banks include investment houses with trusts businesses, non-stock savings and loan associations, pawnshops, financing companies, security dealers/brokers, and trust corporations.

The banking sector’s total resources is equivalent to almost 97 percent of gross domestic product. Savings and demand deposits remain the primary sources of funds for the banking system.

In a report recently, the BSP said the Philippine banking system continue to perform solidly and is resilient with stable growth in lending which was “accompanied by adequate bank capitalization and loan exposure coverage.”

The BSP also noted that banks’ balance sheets, particularly the big banks, reflect steady growth in assets and deposits. As of end-third quarter, the industry reported deposits growth of 14.3 percent year-onyear to R8.8 trillion.

According to the central bank, banks continued to dominate the financial sector, with universal and commercial banks accounting for about 90 percent of banks’ total resources. In terms of the number of head offices and branches/agencies, non-bank financial intermediaries maintained its relatively wide physical network, consisting mainly of pawnshops, it said.