Remittance growth to slow in ’12, DBS says

The growth of remittances from overseas Filipinos may slow down next year despite a “surprisingly resilient” showing so far this year, according to the DBS Group.

The Singapore-based financial services group said in its latest research that “the remittance growth outlook remains cloudy amid slower global growth in 2012.”

The group added that it is unlikely for the country to return to a consistent period of double-digit remittance growth as seen from 2002 to 2008 when global growth was stronger.

Even then, DBS said growth in remittances has been surprisingly resilient over the last few months despite worries about a slowdown in the developed nations and unrest in the Middle East, the possible effects of which have been taken into account.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said last Tuesday that remittances coursed through banks reached $14.8 billion as of September, an increase of 7.1 percent from the same period last year.

According to the central bank, the top sources of remittances for January to September were the United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Italy, Germany and Norway.