The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

By Jerry Maglunog Banks are busy expanding their consumer-loan program, targeting the salaried sector with mostly thrift banks going head-to-head in this regard.

The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) generated a net income of P18.23 billion in 2015 from P18.04 billion the year before.

Despite the back­lash of low oil price in the world market and an economy that sends thousands of Filipino overseas workers back home, Saudi Arabia has secured financing for the construction of the $1.23-billion Jeddah Tow­er that will rival Dubai’s iconic Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.

By Daryl Rose Virtudazo The newly elected president of the Chamber of Real Estate & Builders’ Associations Inc. (Creba), Charlie A.V. Gorayeb, said he will still push for the creation of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (DHUD) as one of the five-point agenda of his administration.

The Public-Private Partnership Center (PPPC) will continue to advocate the enactment of the PPP Act to amend the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law and sustain the momentum of the country’s PPP program after the Aquino administration ends.

Vice presidential candidate Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. vowed to pursue urban land reform program and improve its implementation to achieve its original intent of improving the lot of the urban poor.

Environment officials in the Central Visayas are calling on local chief executives to use geohazard maps for disaster management, as it announced the completion of the release of those maps for all local government units.

Engineer Ernesto S. De Castro was elected national president of the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers Inc. (Pice) in a during an executive session of the newly elected National Board of Directors that was held recently at the Bacolod SMX Convention Center, Bacolod City, Negros Occidental province.

Security Bank Corp. (SBC) has received multiple honors from Corporate Governance Asia for its high ethical business standards.

The Board of Investments (BOI) gathered last week representatives of various government agencies to generate insights and recommendations on the proposal to integrate inclusive business (IB) in government policies.