PHL banks’ total assets up 12.4% as of end-May

The Philippine banking industry’s total assets jumped by an annual 12.4% as of end-May, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed.

Banks’ combined assets increased to P25.62 trillion from P22.79 trillion a year ago, according to preliminary data.

Month on month, total assets inched up by 0.5% from P25.48 trillion as of end-April.

Banks’ assets are mainly supported by deposits, loans, and investments. These include cash and due from banks as well as interbank loans receivable (IBL) and reverse repurchase (RRP), net of allowances for credit losses.

The banking sector’s total loan portfolio inclusive of IBL and RRP climbed by 10.4% to P13.42 trillion as of end-May from P12.16 trillion in the previous year.

Net investments, or financial assets and equity investments in subsidiaries, increased by 11.3% to P7.47 trillion from P6.71 trillion a year ago.

Cash and due from banks stood at P2.69 trillion as of end-May, up by 2% from P2.64 trillion a year earlier.

Net real and other properties acquired increased by 7.2% to P108.19 billion from P100.93 billion a year ago.

Banks’ other assets surged by 63.4% to P1.93 trillion from P1.18 trillion a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the total liabilities of the banking system rose by 12.8% to P22.5 trillion from P19.95 trillion in the year-ago period.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said the higher asset level as of end-May showed the banking sector’s strong growth.

“This is again more than twice faster than gross domestic product (GDP) growth, largely attributed to the sustained double-digit growth in the net income of banks, considered among the most profitable industries in the country,” he said in a Viber message.

Earlier data from the central bank showed that the banking industry’s net income had risen by 2.95% to P92.107 billion as of end-March.

This is also in line with faster loan growth in recent months, Mr. Ricafort said.

Bank lending grew by 9.6% to P11.91 trillion as of end-April, latest data from the BSP showed.

Mr. Ricafort also cited the continued recovery of the economy and business activities from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

He said possible policy rate cuts would “further boost trading gains and other investment income of banks” in the coming months.

BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. has said the central bank is on track to begin cutting rates by August, for a total of 50 basis points (bps) worth of cuts for 2024.

The Monetary Board is set to hold its next policy review on Aug. 15.

If the BSP begins policy easing in August, this would be the first rate cut in over three years or since the central bank last delivered a 25-bp cut in November 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Market players are also anticipating the possibility of the US Federal Reserve cutting rates as early as the third quarter.

US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome H. Powell told lawmakers that “more good data” would build the case for rate cuts. The odds of a rate cut in September are about 75% and will get the next cue from data later in the day that were expected to show easing US inflation, Reuters reported. – Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson, Reporter