Assets held by Philippine banks rose 11.4% in May from a year earlier, topping the P30 trillion mark for the first time as lending, deposits and investment holdings continued to grow.
Preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed the banking system’s total assets climbed to P30.4 trillion in May from P27.3 trillion a year earlier. The figure was also up from P30.1 trillion in April.
“The continued expansion in bank assets reflects healthy growth in lending, sustained deposit inflows, and higher investment holdings amid resilient domestic demand and supportive liquidity conditions,” UnionBank chief economist Ruben Carlo Asuncion said.
“The fact that banking system assets have surpassed the P30-trillion mark highlights the sector’s capacity to support economic activity through credit creation and financial intermediation, which remains essential for consumption, investment, and business expansion,” he added.
Asuncion said bank assets were likely to continue expanding, although renewed hostilities in the Middle East had clouded the outlook.
“This development matters because a prolonged escalation could keep oil prices elevated, revive inflation pressures, and introduce greater uncertainty into global financial markets. These factors could affect consumer and business sentiment and potentially slow the pace of borrowing and investment decisions,” he said.
“Nonetheless, domestic liquidity remains ample, monetary conditions are broadly supportive, and credit demand has remained constructive. As such, barring a more severe and sustained external shock, we still expect the banking sector’s balance sheet to expand in the months ahead, albeit with greater sensitivity to geopolitical developments and their implications for inflation and interest rates.”
