Domestic savings up 13% in 2013

MANILA, Philippines - Domestic savings went up further in 2013 due to higher wages, profitability of the services, industry, and banking sectors, and an increase in the government’s revenues, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported yesterday.

“The economy’s savings momentum is sustained, notwithstanding the series of natural disasters during the last quarter of 2013,” the central bank said in a statement.

Domestic savings went up 13.3 percent to P2.107 trillion in 2013 from 2012, with the household sector emerging as the top saver for the sixth consecutive year.

Savings from households amounted to P909.7 billion in 2013 due to the low and stable inflation, higher daily minimum wage rates, and the continued inflows of remittances from Filipinos abroad.

The non-financial corporations sector, meanwhile, accounted for P743.5 billion of the total savings as the services and industry sectors raked in higher earnings during the period.

The BSP also said the general government sector had P332.2 billion in savings in 2013 on increasing revenues of the national and local government.

“The financial sector also registered an impressive growth in savings of 22.5 percent at P122 billion in view of the increasing profitability of the banking system, particularly the universal/commercial banks,” the BSP said.

At the same time, the BSP reported capital accumulation of the domestic economy rose six percent to P1.7 trillion in 2013 from a year prior.

“Capital accumulation continues to post solid growth as all sectors expand their investments in real assets,” the central bank said.

The non-financial corporations sector was the largest real investor in 2013 at P647.6 billion, followed by the household sector at P586.4 billion.

The BSP said the general government sector’s capital accumulation also grew by 17 percent to P369.5 billion on accelerated spending for infrastructure projects.

“Capital accumulation of the financial sector registered an impressive growth of 70.4 percent largely due to goodwill recorded by some major universal/commercial and thrift banks as a result of certain mergers and acquisitions,” the BSP added.