THE BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas (the Philippine central bank) is confident that remittances sent by overseas Filipinos through banks can sustain an average growth of 15 percent for the whole of this year despite a sharp slowdown in October.

BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo told reporters on Friday that the full-year growth would likely hold with two months to go in the tally and with the seasonal influx of remittances toward yearend.

He added that the country could sustain surpluses in the balance of payments for this year and next despite a more challenging global environment.

The BOP measures the foreign exchange transactions between the local economy and the rest of the world. Any transaction which gives rise to a payment by a Philippine resident like importation or debt servicing is a deficit item in the BOP, while any which gives rise to a receipt like borrowing, exporting or overseas Filipino remittance is a surplus item.

Money sent home by overseas Filipinos grew by a modest 3.3 percent in October year-on-year, the slowest pace of expansion seen in a year and a half, as the country started to feel the pinch of a slowing global economy.

Total overseas remittances coursed through banks reached $1.4 billion in October, bringing the 10-month total to $13.7 billion or 15.5-percent higher than a year ago.

The country has consistently captured more than $1 billion in monthly overseas remittances since May 2006, providing significant support to domestic economic growth. The BSP believes that the monthly influx exceeding $1 billion could be sustained in the months ahead.

It was earlier reported that for 2009, the BSP sees a sustained growth in overseas remittances, although at a slower pace of 6-10 percent given the major global economic downturn.

Sustained demand for highly skilled, better-paid Filipino professional workers, combined with the wider access by overseas Filipinos and their beneficiaries to expanded remittance transfer facilities, continued to support overseas Filipino remittances.