Banking & Finance

By Jerry Maglunog United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) may be one of the top unibanks in the country, but the government is having a hard time selling it because of its political baggage. When the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp.(PDIC) announced last year that the government is selling its 72.2-percent stake in the bank, four unibanks immediately sent their intention to buy the …

A further rise in government spending for April 2015 is seen to perk up the economy for the rest of the year, an economist at investment bank ING said. ING Bank Manila senior economist Joey Cuyegkeng said they “believe that the trend of accelerated spending would continue.”

The World Bank (WB) has noted that growth in the Philippines is becoming more inclusive. “The Philippines now has achieved macroeconomic stability. It has had high growth rates for quite a number of years and more recently, that’s the important point, it is starting to show the kind of growth which is more inclusive,” WB Philippines lead economist Rogier van …

By Riza Lozada The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) took custody of the Manila Metropolitan Theater (Met) after the signing of a deed absolute sale with state pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

By Jerry Maglunog Yuan, the Chinese currency, is set to become a dominant tradable currency in the world like the US dollar and Philippine banks must be ready for this eventuality, Bankers’ Association of the Philippines (BAP) President Lorenzo Tan said.

The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) defended its Treasury bill (T-bill) trading strategy, as it said it sold securities as market prices were dropping globally to limit its losses and protect the bank’s financial condition.

By Jerry Maglunog The strict capital requirement that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) had imposed on rural banks (RBs) are affecting what are considered the last resort of people in the countryside to gain access to the financial services of the government.

By Jerry Maglunog When the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) raised the minimum paid-up capital for rural banks (RB), it sent an underlying message for small struggling banks to merge for survival. Under the new memorandum, anyone who wants to put up an RB needs at least P10 million, if it is located in a fifth-class municipality.

By Riza Lozada All banknotes issued in 1985 or earlier ceases to become a legal tender starting 2017, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said last week as it launched an information campaign on the demonetization.

By Jerry Maglunog Farming is the source of revenues of half of the local labor force. If there are about 44 million workers, more than 20 million of them are likely farmers.