Banking & Finance

The country’s top lenders are not pro­viding enough lend­ings to agricultural projects as required under the Agri-Agra Law.

BDO Unibank Inc. (BDO), the country’s largest lender, recently received the Institu­tional Investors Governance Awards given to companies that scored high marks in the Asean Corporate Governance Scorecard (ACGS) in the re­cent Investors Forum.

Property prices are rising mirroring the still healthy state of the industry as the Residential Real Estate Prices Index (RREPI) jumped to 122.8 points in the second quarter from 110.3 a year ago or 11.3 percent higher.

By Riza Lozada The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said rules on the trading of derivatives will be improved as part of measures to increase the capacity of the domestic financial system. BSP Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr., in a speech during the Philippine International Banking Convention at Shang-ri La last Friday, said the BSP is continuously doing its best …

Preliminary Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed that the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) rose to $85.90 billion by the end of September.

Fifty-six companies in the stock exchange are compliant with Islamic banking practice or Shari’ah based on a quarterly screening ending September by the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

BPI Family Savings Bank, BPI’s retail lending arm, was named the Best Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Bank at the 10th Annual Best Financial Institution Awards organized by Alpha Southeast Asia Publishing in ceremonies held at the Conrad Centennial Singapore.

Volatility in the global financial market will continue until the United States Federal Reserve (the Fed) gives a clearer path for its key interest rates, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said.

By Riza Lozada Local banks’ foreign currency deposit units (FCDUs) have total deposits of $34.68 billion (P1.63 trillion) in the second quarter from $34.66 billion (P1.629 trillion) in the previous quarter, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed. 

The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) recently granted a P352-million loan to Birdsteel Farm, one of the top contract growers in the country, for its farm-expansion project.