Banking & Finance

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) started its budget preparation process for next year with a Budget Forum held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

Filipinos who have no access to financial institutions will now have a chance to be part of the government’s financial inclusion program after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) allowed banks to tap cash agents that include retail stores.

The Asian Develop­ment Bank’s (ADB) operations that in­cluded approvals of loans and grants, techni­cal assistance, and cofinanc­ing reached an all-time high of $27.15 billion in 2015, a 19 percent increase over the $22.89 billion in 2014, accord­ing to ADB figures.

Domestic liquidity or M3 is expected to remain high following the ban against trust entities from tapping the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) overnight de­posit facilities and the Term Deposit Fa­cility (TDF).

By Riza Lozada Foreign direct investments (FDI) inflow rose to $6.22 billion in the first 10 months of last year, up 22.2 percent from $5.1 billion a year ago, government data released last week showed.

Six foreign banks have indi­cated interest to open local offices, Bangko Sentral ng Pili­pinas (BSP) Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said.

By Riza Lozada  The Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) has vowed to substantially increase lending to small farmers and fishermen from P37.9 billion to P115 billion over the next six years, in keeping with President Duterte’s goal of dispersing the benefits of growth to the countryside through the development of the farm sector.

Light Rail Transit 1 (LRT-1) operator Light Rail Manila Corp’s (LRMC) P24-billion loan facility was recently awarded Best Project Finance Deal of 2016 in the 10th Annual Alpha Southeast Asia Best Deal and Solution Awards. 

Microfinance firm Cebuana Lhuillier has forged a partnership with Bayad Center to further boost its domestic remittance service in the country. 

The policy-making Monetary Board has approved the acquisition by Union Bank of the Philippines (UBP) units Union Properties Inc. (UPI) and City Savings Bank Inc. (CitySavings) of the 11-branch First-Agro Industrial Rural Bank (FairBank) based in Cebu.