Philippine financial system resources climb in Q1 - BusinessWorld Online

MARI GIMENEZ-UNSPLASH By Katherine K.Chan, Reporter THE PHILIPPINE financial system’s total resources rose to P37.45 trillion in the first quarter of 2026 as the sector’s assets ballooned despite headwinds stemming from the Middle East war, preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

As of March, banks and nonbank financial institutions’ combined resources grew by 8.61% to P37.45 trillion from P34.481 trillion in the same period last year.Month on month, it edged up by 1.38% from P36.941 trillion previously.

These include funds and assets such as deposits, capital, and bonds or debt securities, but exclude resources from the central bank.    Banks alone held P31.103 trillion worth of resources during the period, climbing by 9.19% from the P28.485 trillion seen a year earlier.Broken down, universal and commercial banks’ resources rose by 8.41% year on year to P28.871 trillion at end-March from P26.631 trillion previously.

This was the bulk of the sector’s resources in the first quarter.  Resources of thrift banks also jumped by 25.17% to P1.478 trillion at end-March from P1.181 trillion in the comparable year-ago period, while digital banks had 44.82% more resources at end-March with P188.7 billion from P130.3 billion in the prior year.Meanwhile, resources held by rural and cooperative banks stood at P565 billion as of end-December last year, 4.01% higher than the P543.2 billion seen in the first quarter of 2025.

There were no data for rural and cooperative banks as of end-March this year.Union Bank of the Philippines Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O.

Asuncion said the higher resources as of end-March came as banks and nonbank financial institutions’ balance sheets remained sound amid the Middle East conflict, with lending activity and deposit inflows likewise boosting their holdings.    “The increase underscores the resilience of the domestic financial system, which remain...