Financial resources grow 10% as of July

MANILA, Philippines — The total resources of the country’s financial system breached the P32-trillion level, posting a double-digit growth in the first seven months of the year, preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

Based on the data, banks and non-bank financial institutions booked a 10.5 percent growth in assets to P32.1 trillion as of July from P29.04 trillion in the same period last year.

These resources include funds and assets such as deposits, capital, bonds and debt securities.

The growth in resources was mainly driven by the 12.3 percent expansion in banks, which rose to P26.78 trillion as of July from P23.85 trillion a year ago. It accounted for 83.4 percent of the financial industry’s total assets.

Banks include universal and commercial, thrift, digital and rural and cooperative lenders.

Non-bank institutions include BSP-supervised investment houses, financing and investment companies, securities dealers and brokers, pawnshops and lending investors.

They also cover non-stock savings and loan associations, credit card companies, non-bank financial institutions and authorized agent banks.