THE Philippine financial system’s resources totaled P36.93 trillion last year, latest Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed, up 8.1 percent from P34.17 trillion a year earlier.
The 12-month tally, which remains preliminary and does not include the central bank’s resources, are also higher than the full-year results of P31.52 trillion in 2023 and P29.04 trillion in 2022.
Data for 2024 have been revised but remain preliminary while those for 2023 also remain preliminary, the BSP noted.
Banks accounted for the bulk of the financial system’s resources at P30.7 trillion last year, up 8.7 percent from P28.25 trillion a year earlier.
The remainder was held by nonbank financial institutions, which posted 5.2-percent growth to P6.23 trillion from P5.92 trillion. The 2025 count, however, is only up to end-September, the BSP noted.
The nonbank sector includes BSP-supervised investment houses, financing firms, investment companies, securities dealers and brokers, pawnshops, lending investors, nonstock savings and loan associations, credit card companies, government nonbank financial institutions such as Philippine Guarantee Corp. and Small Business Corp., and foreign exchange corporations of authorized agent banks.
It also includes the state-run pension funds, the Social Security System and the Government Service Insurance System, and private insurance firms.
Of the amount held by banks, universal and commercial banks accounted for P28.57 trillion last year, an 8.1-percent increase from P26.44 trillion in 2024.
Thrift banks followed with P1.45 trillion, 25 percent higher compared to the year-earlier P1.16 trillion.
Digital banks’ total resources rose by 41.9 percent to P172.5 billion from P121.5 billion while rural and cooperative banks saw a 4.02-percent decline to P505.9 billion from P527.1 billion.
The data for rural and cooperative banks are also as of end-September 2025.
The assets for banks are gross of allowance for probable losses and depreciation, while those for nonbanks are also gross of probable losses but net of depreciation. For the pension funds and insurers, these are net of allowance for both probable losses and depreciation.
Sought for comment, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said the increase was largely driven by continued double-digit growth in bank lending, sustained expansion in bank deposits and ongoing growth in banks’ net income.
He added that banks were consistently among the most profitable industries in the country.
“Further rate cuts and other monetary easing measures by the BSP... would lead to higher trading gains and other investment gains, as well as greater demand for loans that would again be the major growth drivers for total resources of the banking system and the overall financial system, going forward,” Ricafort also said.