The Philippine thrift banking sector expects to sustain its growth momentum through 2026, helped by rising demand for credit and efforts to expand financial inclusion, the Chamber of Thrift Banks (CTB) said.
The sector’s total assets reached P 1.4 trillion after growing 25 percent over the past year, while core lending increased 26 percent to P977.32 billion, supported by loans to small businesses, housing borrowers, and consumers.
“The thrift bank sector has grown 25 percent from last year. In terms of assets, we’re now at PHP1.4 trillion, and we expect this to continue until 2026 despite the current situation. We’re expecting the same growth,” CTB Convention Committee chairman Manuel Santiago Jr. said.
Santiago said financial inclusion remains a major driver of growth, with new banking services helping expand access to credit.
“The basic driver here is financial inclusion. There’s a lot of new services that are being offered, and I think this will drive… particularly the need for credit, and the thrift banks basically provide a lot of these,” Santiago said on the sidelines of the CTB 2026 Convention in Makati City.
He said thrift banks need to continue blending traditional banking with digital platforms and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve compliance, manage risks, and make operations more efficient.
“Today’s challenge is not choosing between physical branches and digital banking. It is creating a seamless customer experience by integrating traditional banking, digital channels, and artificial intelligence,” Santiago said.
The CTB also supported the central bank’s move to extend the maximum repayment period for salary-based consumption loans to seven years from three years but said safeguards are needed to prevent borrowers from becoming overextended.
“The main concern that is being worked on right now is that we want to avoid overburdening the borrowers,” Santiago said, adding that longer repayment terms should apply only to specific purposes such as emergencies, home renovations, and vehicle purchases.
“One of the key controls that we’re looking at is being able to put specific purposes for those that will qualify for six- and seven-year loans,” Santiago said. “We need to balance where these longer-term loans are being applied.”
