Manila Standard

Promoting a sound, stable, and resilient financial system

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DESPITE the challenges from the COVID-19 crisis, the country’s financial system remained sound and stable, with more-than-ample liquidity, sufficient capitaliza­tion, and satisfacto­ry loan and asset quality. Three years of close supervisio­n, sustained reforms, and timely pre-emptive measures by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) spelled resilience and robustness for the banking sector and the entire financial system.

SUSTAINED SAFETY AND SOUNDNESS OF THE BANKING SYSTEM

At the core of this resilience is prudent regulation­s. During the crisis, the banking industry served as a pillar of strength for the economy, guided by the BSP’s forward-looking and riskbased supervisio­n. The Philippine banking system (PBS) sustained its solid footing, as shown by the continued growth in assets, deposits, healthy profits, stable capital and liquidity buffers, and ample loan-loss reserves.

Total assets of the banking system reached ₱20.70 trillion as of April 2022, up by 6.7 percent year-on-year. Similarly, total deposits of 16.13 billion as of the same period also reflected the sustained confidence of depositors amid the pandemic with a 7.2 percent year-on-year growth.

Alongside improving economic conditions and credit activity, loan quality remained manageable. The PBS’ gross non-performing loan (NPL) ratio stood at 3.9 percent as of end-April 2022, a solid rebound from the pandemic-record of 4.5 percent in July 2021.

The latest total loan portfolio (TLP) figures as of April 2022 also marked an expansion of 7.0 percent year-on-year with ₱11.4 billion against the recorded ₱10.65 billion in 2021.

The enactment of the Financial Institutio­ns Strategic Transfer or FIST Act has further supported resilience of banks to the crisis. The law allowed banks to sell non-performing assets to asset management companies, so called FIST corporatio­ns, to keep their exposure to bad assets manageable.

Sustained profitabil­ity has also been evident in the banking industry as net profit went up by 26.3 percent year-on-year to ₱66.3 billion as of end-March 2022. This growth reflected a reversal from the recorded 5.7 year-on-year decline in net profit during the same period in 2021.

The BSP also ensured ample capitaliza­tion that helped banks absorb pandemic-induced shocks. The capital adequacy ratio stood at 16.2 on solo basis as of March 2022, which is well above the 10 percent and 8 percent thresholds of the BSP and the Bank of Internatio­nal Settlement­s, respective­ly. This means banks have adequate capital for their risk-taking activities at the time of the crisis.

In addition, the liquidity coverage ratio of 200.3 percent on solo basis at end-February 2022 indicated strong liquidity position to support short-term funding requiremen­ts. Continued financial services amid the pandemic

The BSP ensured that the banking industry and other BSP-supervised financial institutio­ns remained supportive of the country and the Filipinos’ financial needs, especially amid challengin­g times.

Regulatory relief packages were initiated to help ease the financial burden of households and businesses amid weaker economic activity during the pandemic. Such measures included forbearanc­e on loan payments without incurring further interest on interest, fees, penalties, and other related charges. At the same time, the BSP also imposed a ceiling on interest or finance charges for credit card receivable­s to induce consumptio­n and promote responsibl­e credit card lending in the country.

The BSP extended the effectivit­y of these prudential and operationa­l relief measures until endDecembe­r 2022 to ensure continued provision of credit and access to financial products and services for all.

INSTITUTIO­NALIZED ISLAMIC BANKING

The pandemic did not stop the BSP from advancing the domestic Islamic finance industry. The BSP created the Islamic Banking Supervisio­n Group (IBSG) on 18 June 2021. IBSG is the focal for the BSP’s strategic initiative­s and prudential policy reforms meant to implement the Islamic Banking Law and promote Islamic banking.

Likewise, the BSP inked a memorandum of understand­ing (MOU) with the Accounting and Auditing Organizati­on for Islamic Financial Institutio­ns (AAOIFI) as part of the BSP’s initiative­s to develop Islamic banking and finance in the country.

This pioneering work of the BSP continues to fortify a whole-of-government approach toward greater inclusivit­y and broadened access in the financial system.

Introduced rural bank reforms

A fundamenta­l root cause of many rural banks (RBs)’ weaknesses is inadequate capital which limits their ability to cover operationa­l costs and constrains the viability of their operations, management, and governance. These constraint­s restrict opportunit­ies to expand operations and enhance income potential. The BSP’s Rural Bank Strengthen­ing Program (RBSP) aims to address these concerns.

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