Philippine system resources hit records as remittance growth slows
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data put financial system resources at 38.309 trillion pesos at end-June, while cash remittances from overseas Filipino workers posted their weakest annual rise in four years.
Economics & Markets··Evening
System resources reach 38.309 trillion pesos
Resources held in the Philippine financial system rose 8.91 per cent from a year earlier to 38.309 trillion pesos at the end of June, their highest ever, according to preliminary Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data. A year earlier the figure was 35.174 trillion pesos; month on month it was up 1.78 per cent from the previous all-time high of 37.638 trillion. Banks alone held 31.962 trillion pesos, up 9.96 per cent from 29.067 trillion a year earlier. Universal and commercial banks' resources rose 9.29 per cent to 29.652 trillion pesos and thrift banks' rose 10.7 per cent to 1.515 trillion. Digital banks held 208.4 billion pesos, a rise of 46.66 per cent over the year.[1]
Cash remittances rise 1.7 per cent, weakest in four years
Overseas Filipino workers sent home 3.039 billion dollars in cash in June, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data showed. The 1.7 per cent rise from 2.987 billion dollars a year earlier was the weakest annual growth in four years and four months, since 1.3 per cent in February 2022. The monthly figure was still the highest since December, when it reached 3.522 billion dollars. In the first half of the year cash remittances rose 2.4 per cent to 17.149 billion dollars, from 16.753 billion. Personal remittances, which also cover informal channels and transfers in kind, came to 3.388 billion dollars in June, up 1.8 per cent.[2]
Central bank still forecasts 2.7 per cent remittance growth
The central bank said the United States remained the top source of inflows by reported transaction origin, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia. Bangko Sentral expects cash remittances to rise 2.7 per cent to 36.6 billion dollars this year, after growth of 3.3 per cent to 35.6 billion dollars in 2025. The system's resources cover items such as deposits, capital and debt securities, and exclude the central bank's own. Rural and cooperative banks held 587 billion pesos as of the end of March, 8.06 per cent more than a year before. Non-bank financial institutions' resources reached 6.347 trillion pesos at the end of 2025, up 7.26 per cent; there is no June figure for that group.[2], [1]
