Banks’ trust assets grow to P5.7 trillion

THE Philippine banking system’s trust assets ended at a record high of P5.696 trillion in 2025 amid the continued expansion of unit investment trust funds (UITFs), data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

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This was up by 27.98% from the P4.451 trillion seen at end-2024 and was the highest level recorded so far.

This also rose by 17.03% from the P4.867 trillion recorded at end-September.

Of the end-2025 total, universal and commercial banks held P5.67 trillion in trust assets, rising by 28.17% from P4.424 trillion in the prior year.

Meanwhile, thrift banks had P25.892 billion, 3.33% lower than the P26.784 billion they managed in 2024.

“The double-digit growth in trust assets may be attributed to the further expansion of investments, especially UITFs, reflecting the increased need or shift from deposits in search for higher investment returns amid lower US, global, and local interest rates since (the) latter part of 2024,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said via Viber.

The US Federal Reserve has trimmed its borrowing costs by a cumulative 175 basis points (bps) since September 2024, with its target rate now at 3.5%-3.75%.