Banking system’s deposit base up 8.4% in H1

Bank deposits in the country surged to an all-time high of P5.2 trillion as of the end of the first semester, boosted by rising incomes that allowed households and enterprises to save more.

The amount was 8.4 percent higher than the P4.8 trillion registered in the same period last year.

Regulators said the rising amount of money kept in banks indicated the confidence of the public in the banking system.

Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) said this could be attributed to the system’s sound financial condition and the timely payment of deposit insurance claims in cases of bank closures.

Of the P5.2 trillion worth of peso- and foreign currency-denominated deposits placed in universal, commercial, thrift and rural banks in the country, 67.7 percent, or P3.5 trillion, was placed in bank branches in the National Capital Region, PDIC said in a report.

The balance of 32.3 percent, or P1.7 trillion, is spread out across the rest of the country.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said the concentration of bank deposits in the NCR was consistent with the fact that banks put up the most number of branches in urban areas. The BSP admits that there were still quite a number of areas in the country where there were no banks. The concentration of deposits in the NCR is also reflected by the fast pace of growth of money placed in bank branches located in the region.

PDIC said the amount of bank deposits in the NCR was up by 9.6 percent year on year, exceeding the average growth rate of bank deposits in the country.

Banks generally do not establish branches in areas where business activity is anemic, the BSP said. However, the central bank said bank services were exactly what were needed in many remote areas in the country to help boost business activities in those areas.