Banks’ assets up 8% at end-February

THE PHILIPPINE banking sector’s assets rose by 8% year on year as of end-February, preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

Philippine banks’ combined assets increased by 8.02% to P26.95 trillion as of end-February from P24.95 trillion in the same period in 2024.

However, this slipped by 0.6% month on month from the P27.11 trillion recorded at end-January.

Banks’ assets are mainly supported by loans, real properties, and investments. These include interbank loans receivable (IBL) and reverse repurchase (RRP), net of allowances for credit losses, as well as cash and due from banks.

Broken down, the banking system’s total loan portfolio inclusive of IBL and RRP jumped by 12.3% to P14.68 trillion as of end-February from P13.1 trillion a year prior.

Meanwhile, banks’ net investments went up by 4.9% to P7.76 trillion as of end-February from P7.4 trillion in the previous year. Net investments refer to financial assets and equity investments in subsidiaries.

Net real and other properties acquired rose by 8.8% year on year to P116.5 billion from P107.1 billion.

On the other hand, cash and due from banks amounted to P2.37 trillion as of end-February, down by 2.9% from P2.44 trillion a year ago.

Banks’ other assets increased by 4.8% to P2.02 trillion from P1.93 trillion a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the total liabilities of the banking system climbed by 7.7% to P23.54 trillion as of February from P21.86 trillion in the comparable year-ago period.

Bulk of banks’ liabilities were deposits, which increased by 5.67% year on year to P19.74 trillion at end-February from P18.68 trillion a year prior.

Broken down, peso-denominated deposits stood at P16.31 trillion, while foreign currency deposits were at P3.42 trillion. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson