Bank resources top 114 trillion in Q1
The local banking system reported total resources of R14.08 trillion as of end-March, up 12.37 percent from the same period in 2016 of R12.53 trillion, on a continuously increasing capital and assets-base.
Based on data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the universal and commercial banks which control more than 90 percent of industry resources, had R12.719 trillion of the total. This was higher compared to end-March 2016’s R11.254 trillion or up 13 percent year-on-year.
Thrift banks, in the meantime, reported total resources of R1.294 trillion at the end of the first quarter, from the same time last year of R1.055 trillion.
The central bank’s data on the total resources of the financial system were gathered from banks’ submissions of consolidated statement of condition.
Overall including non-banks, the entire financial system’s total resources amounted to R17.302 trillion which was more than 2016’s R15.670 trillion or a growth of 10.41 percent.
The BSP’s data on the smaller rural banks and non-banks are not as up-todate as the big banks and thrift banks.
The latest data was still end-December 2016, which was R231.7 billion for rural banks while the total nonbank resources (investment houses, finance companies, investment firms, pawnshops and securities dealers/ brokers) stood at R3.222 trillion as of end-2016.
The BSP currently supervises and monitors 42 universal and commercial banks and 64 thrift banks. There are 479 rural and 29 cooperative banks also under BSP’s watch.
At the end of 2016, the central bank is regulating 10 nonbank financial institutions with quasi-banking functions and 5,557 non-banks without quasi-banking functions, of which 5,420 are pawnshops.
The BSP and the banking sector has been preparing operations and networks for the ASEAN market and
financial integration.
BSP Govenor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. continues to emphasize the country’s commitment to the ASEAN Banking Integration Framework, evidenced by agreements signed with Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia to create so-called Qualified ASEAN banks or QABs.
The new law which permits foreign banks to acquire up to 100 percent of the voting stock of an existing domestic bank, from the previous 60 percent limit, make it easier to establish corresponding QABs from other countries.
The BSP effectively opened up to 40 percent of the total banking assets to foreigners.
Credit watchers such as Moody’s and Fitch Ratings think Philippine banks will benefit greatly from integration judging by their positive reviews. Fitch has tagged the local banking sector as the only industry in the Asia Pacific that has a positive outlook while Moody’s said the local sector is the only one in ASEAN with stable reviews on asset quality, capital, profitability, funding, liquidity and operating environment.