Finance

THE Philippine central bank on Thursday tightened its rediscounting facility in a move seen as a prelude to an increase in its key interest rates.

MANILA, Philippines – Subsidies disbursed by the government to government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) and state-owned agencies reached P17.439 billion last year, already way above the P11.3 billion programmed subsidies for the period, latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (Btr) showed.

MANILA, Philippines – The real lending rate in the Philippines continued to slide last year enabling the country to improve its ranking in Asia in terms of highest real lending rate, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The ratio of soured loans of universal and commercial banks to the industry’s total loan portfolio fell to its lowest level in 13 years last year on the back of the country’s resilient economy that enabled household and corporate borrowers to pay their outstanding financial obligations, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)…

Repayment rates are falling at the world’s most famous microfinance institution, Grameen Bank. David Roodman is worried:

The cost of 91-day and six-month debt papers rose in Monday’s auction amid investors’ concerns on the forthcoming elections and the fiscal deficit.

WITH THE ENACTMENT OF THE Credit Information System Act, or Republic Act No. 9510, a comprehensive and centralized credit database will soon be in place in the country.

Congress passed into law last Tuesday the Financial Rehabilitation and Insolvency Act (FRIA), which will provide for the rehabilitation or liquidation of financially distressed companies and individuals to replace the more than century-old Insolvency Law of 1909 or Act No. 1956.

HERZILIYA, Israel (Reuters) – International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Sunday urged the United States, Britain and other countries to cooperate on new policies and regulations in the wake of the financial crisis.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) is proposing what it calls “a seamless transition” from bank closure to liquidation thus eliminating the 90-day period of rehabilitation after bank closure.

MANILA, Philippines – The non-performing loan ratio of universal and commercial banks improved to 3.26 percent in November last year from 3.37 percent a month earlier due to the expansion in the industry’s total loan portfolio, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.

WASHINGTON – Top US bankers Wednesday admitted mistakes that led up to the global financial crisis as they came under intensive grilling at a special inquiry into the economic calamity.

MANILA, Philippines – Investors swarmed the government’s Treasury bill (T-bill) auction yesterday, with total tenders reaching at least twice the offer size across all tenors as cash-rich investors remain hungry for lucrative investment facilities.

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s gross international reserves (GIR) jumped by nearly 20 percent to a new record high of $45.033 billion as of December last year due to strong inflows, government deposits, and the increasing value of the central bank’s gold holdings.

MANILA, Philippines – Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. stressed the need for the next administration to lay down a clear fiscal consolidation program after the global financial crisis derailed the country’s commitment to balance the budget last year.

MANILA, Philippines – The government is looking at a budget deficit of P293 billion next year, higher than the initial estimate of P233.4 billion, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday that the country’s external debt went up by 2.5 percent to $53.1 billion as of end-September this year from $51.8 billion as of end-June this year.

MANILA, Philippines – Companies prepaid $975.8 million worth of foreign-denominated obligations in the first 10 months of the year to take advantage of the stronger peso and lower interest rates.

MANILA, Philippines – Corporate and individual borrowers have been enjoying lower rates as banks have slashed interest rates by 2.1 percentage points since the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) started its easing cycle to boost the slackening domestic economy.

MANILA, Philippines – The soured loans of universal and commercial banks in the country inched up 4.8 percent in October immediately after tropical storm “Ondoy” and typhoon “Pepeng” pummeled major cities and municipalities in the National Capital Region and nearby provinces.

Nothing is certain except death and taxes. In the Philippines, the inevitable burden of taxes cannot be more emphasized by the fact that estate tax even ensues at the time of death.

IMANILA, Philippines – Yields on the government’s Treasury bills (T-bills) moved sideways during yesterday’s auction as investors are on a wait-and-see stance ahead of the meeting of the Monetary Board next week.

BENCHMARK short-term interest rates inched lower across all tenors Monday. This as the Bureau of Treasury announced that the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) is ready to sign the guarantee agreement for the Philippines’ planned Samurai bond offering. National Treasurer Roberto Tan said the signing “may happen this year.”

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino consumers as well as borrowers continued to enjoy lower interest rates as the estimated interest rate pass-through improved steadily as of end-October this year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission currently in the country has placed the country on the multilateral financing institutions watchlist amid the government’s falling revenue collections and the widening budget deficit.

MANILA, Philippines – Thank you for inviting me to be with you today. I know that this is one of the most eagerly awaited events in your industry. I feel honored to be part of this event – to be among some of the most creative minds in the country.

MORE Philippine households opted to rack up debt to cope with the global financial crisis, according to state-run Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS). In a presentation, Celia Reyes, PIDS senior research fellow, said the most common coping strategy adopted by households was to borrow money at 39.4 percent of survey respondents.

MANILA, Philippines – Banks’ bad loans inched up to 4.2 percent in August as more borrowers are having a hard time coping with the full impact of the global financial crisis, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

BENCHMARK interest rates moved sideways across all tenors as the market remained uncertian on the government’s fiscal position, the Bureau of Treasury said on Monday. The 91-day Treasury bill (T-bill) fetched 3.849 percent, or 4.8 basis points lower than the 3.897 percent the debt paper fetched on October 12.

MANILA, Philippines – Subsidies disbursed by the government to government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) and state-owned agencies rose to P12.56 billion from January to September this year, P1.81 billion higher than last year’s P10.75 billion.