Banking & Finance

By Riza Lozada  Bank lendings grew last December by 16 percent, which was slower than the 17.4- percent increase the previous month, data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) recently showed. 

Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) said its long-term negotiable certificates of time deposits (LTNCTDs) attracted good demand from clients, adding that it was a reflection of confidence to the bank. 

The SM Group’s lending arm BDO Unibank Inc. aims to add 50 to 70 new local branches to its network in 2017 as part of its steps to expand footprint, optimistic about the prospects of the economy. 

Funds managed by Insular Life, the first and largest Filipino-owned insurance company, came out strong from last year’s roller-coaster ride for local stocks, rewarding its investors with “very decent returns”. 

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is investigating allegations that some local tobacco firms are using fake tax stamps on cigarettes. 

Government-owned Social Security System (SSS) has reduced its 2017 budget for operating expenses (opex) by P1 billion as it seeks measures to improve its financial performance. 

The Industrial Guarantee and Loan Fund (IGLF), which the government uses to finance industrial projects and is managed by the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), reported P4.5 billion in loans released to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) last year. 

An economist of Standard Chartered (Stanchart) forecasts tightening of domestic liquidity starting in the middle of 2017, thus, a possible cut in banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR) to pump out liquidity. 

By Riza Lozada Taiwan’s biggest lender to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), First Commercial Bank had started local operations to become the first foreign bank to set up a Philippine branch under Republic Act (RA) 10641 or the Act Liberalizing the Entry and Scope of Operations of Foreign Banks in the Philippines enacted in July 2014.

The government-owned Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) and the Japanese government have signed a loan agreement to fund a five-year project that aims to jumpstart agribusiness investments in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and other conflict-affected areas in the South as part of the recent state visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.