PDIC says bank deposits rose during pandemic

MANILA, Philippines—More bank accounts in the Philippine financial system are now protected by deposit insurance – an improvement that mirrors an observed increase in savings levels during the pandemic, according to data from a banking regulator.

In a statement, the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) said that 96.7 percent of the 78.7 million deposit accounts in in the country are fully insured by the agency as of the end of September 2020.

The total number of fully insured accounts was 11.8 percent more compared to the 68.1 million recorded in the same period in 2019.

In terms of amount, 11.6 percent of the P14.3 trillion total deposits are fully covered by deposit insurance, and represents an increase of 11.3 percent from the P1.5 trillion insured deposits in the same period in 2019.

“The steady growth in the number of deposit accounts and in terms of amount of deposits, reflects increased depositor confidence in the banking system despite the adversities posed by the pandemic,” PDIC president Roberto Tan said.

“We are confident that the full year data will present even brighter prospects for saving as a positive response to the health crisis,” he added.

The PDIC reported that the double-digit growth in the number of fully insured accounts year-on-year mirrored the double-digit growth of 11.7 percent in the number of total deposit accounts in banks nationwide.

Total deposit amount grew 9.5 percent year-on-year from P13.1 trillion to P14.3 trillion.

Data released by the regulator also showed that deposits with balances of P100,000 and below posted the biggest growth in terms of amount and accounts, or by 12.4 percent from P476.7 billion in September 2019 to P535.7 billion in September 2020.

This mirrored the double-digit growth of 11.9 percent from 63.6 million deposit accounts to 71.2 million accounts.

Meanwhile, deposits with balances greater than P100,000 up to P500,000 increased by 10.8 percent from P1 trillion in end-September 2019 to P1.1 trillion in end-September 2020.

This accounted for an increase of 11.4 percent from 4.5 million deposit accounts to 5 million deposit accounts.

Further, data showed that deposits with balances above P500,000 grew by 9.3 percent from P11.6 trillion to P12.7 trillion. This represented an increase of 6.7 percent in terms of number of deposit accounts from 2.4 million to 2.6 million.

During the pandemic, Filipinos showed an inclination to save through banks, PDIC said.

Savings and demand deposit accounts amounted to P6.8 trillion and P3.9 trillion, and jointly accounted for the bulk of total domestic deposits at 74.5 percent.

Meanwhile, long term deposits amounting to P3.7 trillion accounted for 25.5%l percent of the deposits.

Depositors’ preference for liquidity in these uncertain times, with accounts that allow them to withdraw cash immediately, shows in the negative growth of 7.4 percent in time deposits and long term notes and certificates of deposit from the previous P4 trillion in end-September 2019, while savings deposits increased by 14.6 percent and demand deposits grew by 21.1 percent.

TSB