THE total number of bank branches as of the third quarter this year increased to 11,024 from 10,936 a quarter ago as lenders continued their expansion programs to widen their presence nationwide, latest data from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show.
Universal and commercial banks accounted for 6,147, up from 6,133 as of end-June 2016. Universal banks had 5,628 offices, up from 5,616 a quarter ago. Private domestic banks increased to 5,077 from 5,073, government banks to 536 from 528, while foreign bank branches remained at 15.
Branches of commercial banks slightly increased to 519 from 517. Under this category, private domestic banks improved to 399 from 397, foreign bank subsidiaries remained at 104, and foreign bank branches were steady at 16.
There are currently 41 head offices of universal and commercial banks in the country, the biggest of which is the BDO Unibank Inc. of retail tycoon Henry Sy.