'GLOBAL HEADWINDS TO CUT CAPITAL EXPANSION'

A SLEW of risks outside the country’s borders may keep bankers’ hands in their pockets, thereby tempering the pace of expansion of resources held by the Philippine financial system, according to analysts.

- BY ANDREA E. SAN JUAN

The growth of loans and investments could also be placed under strain by increasing prices of oil and energy costs, putting upward pressure on inflation and interest rates, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said.

What's at stake is the total resources held by the Philippine financial system, which rose to P36.33 trillion as of January, as reported recently by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Based on central bank data, combined funds and assets of banks (excluding those held by the BSP) and non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) increased by 7.29 percent to P36.33 trillion as of the end of the first month of the year, from P33.86 trillion in January 2025.