THE Philippine financial system’s resources went up by over 11 percent to P38.6 trillion in the first eight months of the year from P34.7 trillion a year earlier, latest Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed.
The eight-month tally, which remains preliminary and does not include the central bank’s resources, is also higher than the full-year results of P37.13 trillion last year, P34.17 trillion in 2024, P31.52 trillion in 2023, and P29.04 trillion in 2022.
Reyes Tacandong & Co. senior adviser Jonathan Ravelas said the growth was driven mainly by “solid loan expansion, rising deposits, healthy bank earnings, and continued balance sheet growth among major banks.”
“Moving forward, resource growth will hinge on credit demand, interest rates, inflation, and the strength of economic activity,” Ravelas said.
“While the pace may moderate, the sector remains well-capitalized, liquid, and fundamentally sound,” he added.
Banks accounted for the bulk at P32.17 trillion, up 12.53 percent from P28.59 trillion in January to August 2025.
Of this, universal and commercial banks accounted for P29.78 trillion in the first eight months, an 11.8-percent increase from P26.63 trillion in the same period last year.
Thrift banks followed with P1.54 trillion, also higher compared to the year-ago P1.38 trillion.
Digital banks’ total resources rose by 51.14 percent to P225.2 billion from P149.0 billion, while rural and cooperative banks saw a 46.8-percent increase to P623.9 billion from P424.9 billion in 2025.
The resources of non-bank financial institutions, meanwhile, grew by 4.7 percent to P6.39 trillion from P6.11 trillion.
This sector includes BSP-supervised investment houses, financing firms, investment companies, securities dealers and brokers, pawnshops, lending investors, non-stock savings and loan associations, credit card companies, government non-bank financial institutions such as Philippine Guarantee Corp. and Small Business Corp., and foreign exchange corporations of authorized agent banks.
The data for non-bank financial institutions are as of end-March 2026, the BSP noted.
