Bank assets up by 12.4 % to P25.6 trillion as of end-May

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine banks booked another double-digit growth in assets, expanding by 12.4 percent to P25.6 trillion as of end-May, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

On a monthly basis, the banking industry’s total assets inched up by 0.5 percent from P25.48 trillion as of end-April.

Based on central bank data, the growth in the sector’s total resources was fueled by the 12.3 percent expansion in the assets of universal and commercial banks to P24.06 trillion as of end-May from P21.42 trillion a year ago.

Big banks accounted for 94 percent of the banking industry’s total resources in 2023.

Meanwhile, resources of thrift banks grew by 9.6 percent to P1.03 trillion as of end-May from P942.7 billion in the same period in 2023. Mid-sized banks covered four percent of the overall banking resources.

The newer digital banking group also posted double-digit growth of 32.2 percent in assets, reaching P100.35 billion as of end-May from P75.9 billion in the same period a year ago.

On the other hand, the assets of rural and cooperative banks also went up by 15.8 percent to P425.4 billion as of end-March from P367.3 billion in the comparable year-ago period. The BSP updates its data for rural banks quarterly.

As of March, the country has 44 big banks, 42 thrift banks, 389 rural and cooperative banks as well as six digital banks under the BSP’s supervision.

The banking sector is dominated by family-owned conglomerates led by Sy-led BDO Unibank, Ty-led Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands, Sy-led China Banking Corp., Yuchengco-owned Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., Lucio Tan’s Philippine National Bank and Aboitiz-led Union Bank of the Philippines.

Earnings of Philippine banks rose by 2.9 percent to P92 billion in the first quarter from P89.47 billion in the same period a year ago on the back of higher interest income amid the aggressive rate hikes by the BSP.