Tag: Banking Report Q4 2019

SUSTAINABLE FINANCE or green finance has been gaining traction across the financial value chain due to its economic benefits with environmental, social and governance considerations. Due to its appeal of bringing both sustainability-positive outcomes and investible returns, it is perceived as one of the tools mobilizing capital from the private sector, thereby, filling financing gaps that government funds and development assistance may not be able to fully provide.

“WE HAD A MOTHER and son team who have been managing a gas service station in the Visayas. They would often use their credit cards for their fuel purchases and would regularly pay every two months. They never went to a bank for financing because they did not want to be bothered by too many documentary requirements and continuous negotiations,” shared Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) Business Banking Head Eric Luchangco in an e-mail interview with BusinessWorld regarding one of their clients’ experience.

USUALLY, seafarers would have to wait for their ship to dock and go to a bank or a remittance center when they want to send money to their loved ones. With money transfers being made easier thanks to money transfer apps, the same convenience will be extended to seafarers that would enable them to make transactions anywhere in the world, even while at sea.

ANALYSTS are generally bullish on bank stocks this year amid expectations of the central bank to ease monetary policy further in order to support economic growth.

THE FOURTH QUARTER of 2019 saw local financial markets performing relatively sideways with positive factors at home such as the inflation slowdown and catch-up government spending partly cushioning the impact brought by developments abroad.