IN THE COMING YEARS, banking for the ordinary and the underbanked Filipino can be made easier and accessible even with minimal resources. The fast pace of digitalization in the banking sector calls for alterative ways and opportunities that consumers should be entitled to.

THE FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY (fintech) landscape in the Philippines has been growing despite the setbacks experienced due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The rapid movement of digitalization in the past years paved the way for financial services to expand and be more convenient for the average Filipinos.

FINANCIAL MARKETS may continue to experience volatility in the near term following the Federal Reserve’s start of its tightening cycle and the geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

THE BANKING SECTOR’s bottom line could further improve this year as the economy gradually loosens its pandemic movement curbs, analysts said.

WITH ECONOMIC RECOVERY expected to be underway, banks will have to tailor their relief measures accordingly as authorities begin unwinding its support to the financial sector.

THE PAST TWO years have been rough on micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). According to the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) List of Establishments data, the number of the country’s MSMEs fell by 4.3% to 952,969 in 2020 from 995,745 the year before. The closure of around 43,000 of these firms led to approximately 130,000 jobs lost.

ANALYSTS expect the country’s financial markets to recover along with the economy next year, but cautioned risks remain with the threat of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), as shown by the mixed performance in the third quarter.

WITH THE ECONOMY showing signs of recovery, investors may consider bank stocks for next year as lenders are seen to be in a better position to bounce back compared with the previous quarters.

It is often said that past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Nevertheless, the credit information that displays payment histories is considered a key ingredient in the financial sector as it helps address the problem of asymmetric information by helping lenders screen borrowers and providing an incentive for borrowers to repay their loans.

Unobank secured a digital banking license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in June, adding to the roster of lenders offering all-online services.

It was in 2011 when the country’s five large domestic and foreign banks — BDO Unibank, Inc., Bank of the Philippine Islands, Citibank Philippines, Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (via its then-credit card subsidiary Metrobank Card Corp.), and Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC) — teamed up with Chicago-based credit information management firm TransUnion to set up the country’s first international private credit bureau TransUnion Philippines.

While online banking is not new in the Philippines, banks without physical branches could sooner or later become the norm in the country as the central bank distinguishes digital-only banks from those with brick-and-mortar presence.