Non-bank domestic claims reach ₱9 T in 2023

The domestic claims of nonbank or other financial corporations (OFCS) grew by 15 percent year-onyear in 2023 to ₱9.054 trillion from ₱7.873 trillion, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) Other Financial Corporations Survey (OFCS). The quarterly OFCS is basically an analytical survey that provides a comprehensive measure of the claims or assets, and liabilities of the country’s OFCS.

OFCS are private corporations and quasi-corporations whose principal activity is the production of market goods or non-financial services. These institutional units provide “financial services other than banks, non-banks with quasi-banking functions, non-stock savings and loan associations, and the central bank.” These are comprised of non-money market funds of trust institutions, trust corporations, and investment companies, private and public insurance corporations, holding companies, government-owned or -controlled corporations engaged in financial intermediation, and other financial intermediaries and auxiliaries, said the BSP.

On a quarterly basis, the domestic claims of OFCS went up by 2.7 percent in the fourth quarter 2023 from ₱8.817 trillion in the third quarter, based on preliminary survey results.

In a statement, the BSP said the year-on-year growth was due to the rise in the sector’s claims on the central government, the private sector, and the depository corporations. The other sectors are the state and local government, public nonfinancial corporations (NFCS), and private sector. Depository corporations include the BSP and other depository entities.

OFCS’ claims on the central government increased on account of the higher holdings of government-issued debt securities. “Moreover, the other financial

corporations’ claims on the private sector rose as its investments in equity shares issued by the other nonfinancial corporations and loans extended to the household sector grew (while the) sector’s claims on the depository corporations also rose amid the increase in its bank deposits and holdings of bank-issued securities,” said the BSP.

The net foreign assets of the sector increased by 48 percent year-on-year to ₱388.7 billion from ₱262.7 billion in 2022.

Meanwhile, the 16.1 percent growth in the sector’s other liabilities to ₱9.443 trillion from ₱8.135 trillion is “due mainly to the rise in its shares and other equity issuances and insurance technical reserves,” said the BSP.