BSP losses narrow to P11.31 B in ’14

MANILA, Philippines - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas narrowed its losses to P11.31 billion in 2014 from P25.05 billion in 2013.

Revenues slid 11 percent to P50.26 billion last year from P56.58 billion a year earlier  due to a 30-percent plunge in miscellaneous income to P16.97 billion from P24.15 billion, while interest income increased three percent to P33.28 billion.

At the same time, the central bank reduced its spending by 17 percent to P70.50 billion in 2014 from P84.91 billion in 2013.

The BSP’s interest expenses fell 22 percent to P46.24 billion last year, while other expenses went down four percent to P24.26 billion.

The slump in interest expenses may be partly due to the restriction of investment management accounts (IMA) or singular fund accounts in the BSP’s Special Deposit Account implemented in November 2013. The central bank then wanted to flush out funds from the facility to encourage investors to put their money in other activities that will benefit the economy.

Central bank data showed funds parked in the SDA amounted to P845.041 billion as of end-2014, 38 percent lower than the P1.353 trillion seen in 2013.

Meanwhile, the narrower losses last year were also due to higher earnings from the BSP’s foreign currency-denominated transactions which include re-investments of matured investments, servicing of obligations and maturity of derivatives instruments.

Central bank data showed it incurred a P8.94-billion gain from foreign exchange operations in 2014, up 60 percent from P5.6 billion recorded in 2013 due to a weaker peso during the current period.

The peso averaged 44.4:$1 last year, weaker than its P42.45:$1 average in 2013.