Copyright bworldonline
DOMESTIC CLAIMS of nonbank financial firms grew by 16.7% year on year as of June, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Thursday. Based on the BSP’s Other Financial Corporations Survey (OFCS), domestic claims of nonbanks climbed to P10.746 trillion as of June from P9.212 trillion a year ago. Quarter on quarter, claims inched up by 0.1% from P10.733 trillion at end-March. “The quarter-on-quarter increase in the sector’s claims was mainly driven by its larger investment in equity shares issued by other nonfinancial corporations, higher holdings of government securities, and a rise in loans extended to households,” the BSP said in a statement. “However, the growth in the sector’s domestic claims was slightly tempered by the decline in its holdings of bank-issued debt securities.” The OFCS is an analytical survey that covers data on non-money market investment funds, other financial intermediaries, financial auxiliaries, captive financial institutions and money lenders, insurance corporations, and pension funds. Bulk of nonbanks’ domestic claims during the quarter were claims on other sectors, followed by claims on depository corporations and the central government, BSP data showed. Broken down, claims on other sectors grew by 9.5% to P4.934 trillion as of June from P4.507 trillion a year ago. This was also up by 1.9% from the P4.865 trillion seen at end-March. Other sectors include the state and local government, public nonfinancial corporations, and the private sector. Meanwhile, claims on depository corporations jumped by 28.9% year on year to P3.004 trillion from P2.331 trillion the previous year but declined by 3.3% from P3.107 trillion in the first quarter. OFCs’ net claims on the central government also rose by 18.2% annually to P2.808 trillion at end-June from P2.375 trillion in 2024. Quarter on quarter, it edged up by 1.7% from P2.761 trillion. On the other hand, nonbanks’ liabilities climbed by 18% year on year to P11.431 trillion from P9.689 trillion as of June by 0.6% from the P11.369 trillion recorded as of March. The BSP said this was “primarily due to the increase in its issued shares of stocks and higher insurance technical reserves.” OFCs’ net foreign assets surged by 43.5% to P685.376 billion as of June from P477.603 billion last year. It was also 7.9% higher than P635.265 billion in the prior quarter. This came amid an increase in claims on nonresidents, which stood at P838.466 billion, rising by 32.1% from P634.499 billion a year prior. Meanwhile, liabilities to nonresidents went down by 2.4% to P153.091 billion from P156.896 billion a year ago. — Katherine K. Chan
