BSP seeks immediate actions for ‘financial inclusion’ in PH
ILOILO City – Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas ( BSP) Economics Statistics deputy director Teresita Deveza said BSP will present to a steering committee a set of recommendations that would need immediate actions to push the government’s thrust toward financial inclusion beneficial to more Filipinos.
These recommendations are based on the results of the 2014 Consumer Finance Survey conducted by BSP to generate data on the financial conditions of households in the country and presented by Deveza at a multi-sectoral forum held at the Amigo Terrace Hotel on May 26.
Data that were gathered included the households’ financial and non-financial assets, level of indebtedness and sources of credits, and income, spending and insurance coverage.
The results of the survey, the second such project initiated by BSP, showed that there is a need to strengthen financial inclusion efforts or advocacies by both government and the private sector.
“People should be able to avail of the financial services of financial institutions, to have savings accounts so that they are able to avail of savings services, to be able to avail of loans, in order for them to benefit from financial inclusion,” said Deveza.
The results of the CFS showed the need for the government to focus more efforts on achieving this.
The study showed that f i nancial assets, which is an indicator of financial inclusion, is not included in the most common assets held by households in the country, which i nclude home appliances, their own residence, and motor vehicles.
Filipinos also have more outstanding consumer loans such as all- purpose loans, motor vehicle loans and credit card loans than real property loans.
Most acquire their house or house- and- lot through purchase in cash or through inheritance rather than through financial institutions.
Most are also not capable of maintaining deposit accounts in banks since they don’t have enough money to spare.
Only o n e i n f o u r respondents showed to be covered by a retirement or insurance plan. Income-wise, about one-half of respondents said they derive income from wages and salaries, more than they obtain from business or financial assistance from relatives abroad.
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