BSP losses up 12% to P3.55 B in 7 months

MANILA, Philippines - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) recorded a double-digit increase in losses as expenses continued to balloon in the first seven months.

Data showed the BSP recorded a net loss of P3.55 billion from January to July, 12 percent higher compared to the net loss of P3.17 billion in the same period last year.

Revenues of the central bank jumped 25 percent to P34.97 billion from January to July.

Interest income contributed P21.47 billion to the revenues of BSP, while miscellaneous income from regulatory fees paid by banks, among others chipped in P13.5 billion from January to July.

On the other hand, total expenses went up 7.5 percent to P41.69 billion in the first seven months.

Without taxes and foreign exchange fluctuation, losses of the BSP could have reached P6.72 billion from January to July.

However, the central bank booked a gain of P3.17 billion from its foreign exchange operations for the seven-month period.

The losses of the central bank have reached P224.47 billion since 2010. In 2012, the BSP booked a record loss of P95.38 billion due mainly to the buildup in the amount of cash parked in the vault of the BSP.

The central bank uses the special deposit account (SDA) facility as a tool to siphon excess cash from the economy as part of its mandate to protect consumers’ purchasing power by keeping prices stable.