Banks expand network reach

MANILA, Philippines - The number of banks dropped last year but the lenders’ operating network continued to expand during the period, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data showed.

The number of banking institutions went down to 648 last year from 673 in 2013, reflecting continued consolidation and the exit of weak players from the industry.

However, the number of banking offices further increased to 9,713 last year from 9,262 in 2013, mainly due to the aggressive expansion of universal and commercial banks during the period.

“The Philippine banking system remains sound and stable supported by a strong economic growth,” the BSP said in a report.

“Banks’ balance sheets were marked by a sustained growth in assets and deposits. Asset quality indicators also continued to improve, while capital adequacy ratios remained above international standards, even with the implementation of the tighter Basel III framework,” the central bank said.

The BSP earlier said banks have been continuously widening their reach in and out of the capital to further grow their loan portfolios and also in preparation for the upcoming regional integration that will bring in more players.

The central bank this year has also started accepting applications for foreign banks wanting to operate in the country following a new law passed last year.

Universal and commercial banks owned bulk of the banking offices last year at 5,883. Their head offices remained at 36, but the banks’ offices rose to 5,797 last year from 5,425 in 2013.

The number of thrift banks, meanwhile, slid to 69 last year from 71 in 2013 but the number of offices climbed to 1,851 from 1,757.

The number of rural and cooperative banks also shrank last year to 543 from 566, while the number of its branches also slid to 2,065 from 2,080.

Banks last year also extended the reach of their automated teller machines, growing them to 15,695 by the end of 2014 from 14,530 in 2013. These were made up of 9,064 units within bank premises and 6,631 off-site or those in malls and other establishments.

Universal and commercial banks again accounted for the bulk of the ATMs at 13,336 last year, up from 12,451 in 2013.

Thrift banks also hiked up their ATMs to 1,880 last year from 1,740 in 2013, while rural and cooperative banks increased theirs to 479 from 339.