Banking & Finance

By Jerry Maglunog With the aim of servicing more Filipinos, the state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank or LBP) has launched a massive expansion in the provinces to reach a bigger number of unbanked Filipinos. 

By Riza Lozada RCBC Bankard credit cards are now embedded with Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV)-chip technology to comply with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s (BSP) Circular 808, issued in August 22, 2013, requiring all BSP-supervised institutions (BSIs) to shift from the traditional magnetic stripe to the more secure EMV-chip technology by the start of next year. 

By Riza Lozada The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is beefing up coins in circulation by bidding out a contract for the supply of P1.2 billion worth of new metal currencies this year, based on a bid procurement offer issued this month. 

Singaporean investment bank DBS forecasts an improvement in the country’s economic output in the second quarter. 

By Jerry Maglunog  Despite their generous-sounding pitches, consumer loans give banks the biggest margins on lendings. An average of 15 percent to 20 percent in interest goes to a bank that approves either a car, housing, salary or personal loan. 

By Jerry Maglunog With the 2016 presidential elections barely nine months away, it is evident that even international banks are now having a keen interest in the local political landscape. 

By Jerry Maglunog As the number of rural banks (RBs) continues to fall, rural bankers said the latest action of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to create the consolidation program for rural banks (CPRB) is very timely.

After the complete buyout by Banco de Oro Unibank (BDO) of one of the country’s biggest rural banks (RBs), One Network Bank (ONB), the stage is set for the country’s biggest banks to enter micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). 

By Jerry Maglunog Local money changers mostly accept only four currencies and gift certificates (GCs) of a popular mall chain because these are the notes that have several users. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the foreign-exchange shops do not violate any provision in their license in the purchase of popular gift checks.

Delegates to the Regional Social Dialogue Conference, held recently in Manila, have drawn up recommendations in pursuit of an “inclusive, stable, and sustainable Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) with an inclusive, stable and sustainable Asean financial structure.”