The total resources of the Philippine financial system grew 6.76 percent year-on-year to P35.31 trillion as of end-October 2025, according to data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Tuesday.
This was higher than P33.08 trillion registered in the same period last year. However, it represents a 1.30 percent decline from the P35.78 trillion posted in September.
Local banks, which account for the majority of the financial system’s resources, saw a 7.19-percent year-on-year increase P27.25 trillion to P29.21 trillion in October.
Universal and commercial banks recorded a 6.42 percent rise in total resources to P27.13 trillion. Thrift banks experienced a significant jump of 24 percent in their resources to P1.42 trillion.
Resources held by digital banks grew 36.20 percent to P155.0 billion, and rural and cooperative banks’ resources rose 1.53 percent to P505.9 billion.
Meanwhile, non-bank financial institutions maintained their end-June resource level of P6.10 trillion. These institutions include private insurance companies, the Social Security System, and the Government Service Insurance System.
Senior research fellow John Paolo Rivera of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies said the growth in resources reflects continued deposit inflows, balance sheet growth among banks and non-banks and valuation effects as firms began building up government securities and other financial assets amid a low interest rate environment.
Rivera also noted the slower but still positive credit growth, strong remittance inflows and the public’s preference for safer regulated financial assets supported the expansion.
Rivera expects banking growth to remain steady but moderate. He said the pace of deposit and investment asset growth under lower policy rates would depend on loan demand recovery and confidence improvement.
“Without a stronger pickup in economic activity and investment, balance sheets will expand but more through asset reallocation and liquidity build-up than aggressive lending,” Rivera said.
