Bank deposits up 8.5% to P16 trillion in January

MANILA, Philippines — More Filipinos are still opting to keep their money in banks as deposits went up by 8.5 percent to P16 trillion as of end-January, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The BSP said the growth rate was faster than the 8.1 percent recorded in the same month last year.

Data showed that savings deposits had the biggest share at 48.7 percent, followed by demand and NOW accounts at 29.8 percent, and time deposits at 20.2 percent.

According to the BSP, universal and commercial banks cornered the largest share of deposits at 94.2 percent with P15.1 trillion in January this year, about 10.1 percent higher than the level recorded in the same month last year.

Thrift or mid-sized banks followed with a share of 4.4 percent despite the 18.6 percent drop to P698.4 billion, as well as rural and cooperative banks with 1.4 percent or P232.5 billion after growing by 13 percent.

As a result, the total assets of Philippine banks increased by 7.2 percent to P20.6 trillion in end- January.

“The asset growth was funded mainly by deposit generation and capital infusion,” the BSP said.

Big banks cornered the biggest share of 94.1 percent of the banking industry’s total resources or P19.4 trillion, followed by mid-sized banks with 4.4 percent or P904 billion and small banks with 1.5 percent or P312 billion.

According to the BSP, the banking system’s assets and deposits continued to grow despite the impact of the pandemic.

As part of its heavy lifting, the   Monetary Board implemented various COVID response measures by cutting interest rates by 200 basis points, bringing the benchmark rate to an all-time low of two percent. It also reduced the reserve requirement ratio to free up more funds for lending.

The measures to cushion the impact of the COVID pandemic on the economy helped unleash P2.2 trillion into the financial system to boost economic activities.

In terms of the banks’ physical network, the BSP said the number of bank offices continued to expand to 13,177 as  of end-January, comprising of 504 head offices and 12,673 branches.