Banking & Finance

The World Bank (WB) is working with the government to develop an insurance and risk-transfer mechanism for national and local governments, businesses and even individual households to help them deal with natural disasters. 

By Jerry Maglunog Banks are also making a killing out of lending, aside from the conventional route of bank loans through tie-ups with credit-card companies. 

By Riza Lozada With more than 100 million payment cards issued in the Philippines, the biggest challenge to spur e-commerce remains the accessibility of terminals, according to a recent industry report. 

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (SMBC) recently opened its local branch at the 21st Floor, Ayala Tower 1, Makati City. 

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.