PH banking system deposits breach P20T

MANILA, Philippines — Total deposits in the Philippine banking system crossed the P20-trillion mark in 2024 on the back of a double-digit growth in lenders’ customer base, auguring well for the government’s bid to promote financial inclusion in the archipelago.

Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed deposits held by the local banking sector grew by 7 percent to P20.37 trillion last year.

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That amount of cash, deemed as a major lifeline for banks, was kept in 143.35 million deposit accounts as of end-2024, up by 18 percent.

Those accounts belonged to 128.73 million depositors, representing a 15-percent expansion in the industry’s customer base. To note, a depositor who has several types of accounts was counted as one in the BSP’s tally.

Broken down, the bulk of the deposits were kept by universal and commercial banks, holding P19.1 trillion of funds across 93 million deposit accounts. BSP data showed big banks saw their depositor base grow by 8 percent to over 86 million in 2024.

Financial inclusion

Meanwhile, thrift banks had attracted P826.21 billion in funding across 7.4 million accounts. These lenders received those deposits from their 7.3 million clients, marking a 12-percent increase.

Deposits held by rural and cooperative banks reached P350 billion last year. Those funds were put in 23.6 million accounts owned by 23 million customers, which grew by 15 percent.

Notably, the nascent digital banking sector was able to raise P96.3 billion in total deposits as of last year, clocking in a 40-percent growth that continued to beat the performance of the entire local banking sector.

Those funds were placed in over 19 million accounts belonging to 12.4 million depositors, which was more than twice the number of clients recorded a year ago.

Overall, the growing number of bank depositors in the country bodes well for the BSP’s goal to include 70 percent of Filipino adults in the formal financial system. And the central bank is counting on virtual lenders to help make this happen.

The BSP has put four new digital banking slots up for grabs this year, in a bid to expand the industry that for now includes only six players: UNO Digital Bank, UnionDigital Bank, GoTyme, Overseas Filipino Bank of state-run Land Bank of the Philippines, Tonik Digital Bank and Maya Bank.

But getting a digital banking license won’t be easy this time.

The BSP had said only the applicants that show capacity to meet the minimum criteria and offer a unique value proposition—or develop new and innovative business models not offered by existing players—would be granted a digital banking license.

Analysts have said that the attractive interest rates being offered by digital banks are expected to fire up the competition for deposits in the local banking scene. INQ