ME war may spook both bank lending, borrowing By Andrea E. San Juan
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HE ongoing conflict in the Middle East could make lending less appealing to banks and borrowing less enticing to consumers as they turn more cautious, according to an analyst. Jonathan L. Ravelas, senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co. said bank lending in the Philippines slowed “mainly because both banks and borrowers have turned more cautious.” He said high interest rates and global uncertainty are making banks more selective, while businesses are delaying expansion and focusing on cash flow. He also pointed out: “The Middle East crisis adds to this caution, with higher oil prices and market volatility increasing risk concerns.” As such, Ravelas said lending may stay soft in
SEEING RED A man sells bottles of unleaded gasoline for P75 each in Montalban, Rizal, on
March 10, 2026, ahead of steep fuel price hikes linked to the Middle East conflict. Lawmakers questioned the Department of Energy over its inability to stop oil firms from raising prices even though current fuel stocks were reportedly purchased at lower pre‑crisis costs under the deregulated pricing system. NONOY LACZA
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the near term, but if inflation stabilizes and rates ease later on, “We could see a gradual pickup— likely starting with working-capital loans rather than aggressive expansion.”
Slowest in 23 months
PRELIMINARY data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that loan growth slowed to 9.3 percent in January 2026 from the 9.6 percent (revised) in December 2025. This is also the slowest in 23 months or since February 2024. Outstanding loans from universal and commercial banks (UKBs) to businesses and individual consumers reached P14.236 trillion as of January 2026. The outstanding loans to residents grew at a slower rate of 9.9 percent in January 2026 from 10.1 percent in December of last year. Meanwhile,
the outstanding loans to non-residents dropped by 10.4 percent after contracting by 8 percent in December 2025. Loans meant to fund business activities grew by 8.2 percent in January 2026, driven by increased lending in real estate activities (9.1 percent); electricity, gas, steam, and air-conditioning supply (20.3 percent); wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (8.3 percent); and financial and insurance activities (5.5 percent). Consumer loans to residents—which include credit card, motor vehicle, and general-purpose salary loans—grew by 21.3 percent from 21.5 percent. “Looking ahead, the BSP will ensure that domestic liquidity and bank lending conditions remain aligned with its price and financial stability mandates,” the BSP said, as bank loans are the
key transmission channel of monetary policy. For his part, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael L. Ricafort explained that the slowest bank loan growth in nearly two years is consistent with the slower economy largely brought about by government underspending especially on infrastructure amid the political noise/anomalous flood-control projects since the latter part of 2025. He said this is “partly weighed by political noises recently in terms of cautiousness/waitand-see attitude by some investors/businesses/ consumers that take up loans to finance bigticket items such as capital for businesses, homes, vehicles, among others.” For Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) Senior Research Fellow John Paolo R. Rivera, the slowdown in bank lending, which refers See “War,” A2
BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business
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‘PREPARE FOR WORST,’ DOE COUNSELS PUBLIC www.businessmirror.com.ph
By Lenie Lectura
P
@llectura
REPARE for the worst but hope for the best.
A day after oil firms started implementing the highest, largest single-week increase, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said Tuesday that the worst is not yet over. “For me, I would expect the worst because it’s better to be overprepared. I don’t have the vision of what will happen by next week or how long this will last. I just want to prepare. We must prepare for the worst,” the energy chief said. To make sure that “the Philippines will be okay fuel- and power-wise,” Garin urged oil companies to order fuel imports early while the government seeks more
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sources of fuel from other countries. “If say, for instance, we can no longer buy from South Korea I am optimistic that we have other countries that we can buy fuel from like Canada, Brazil, India, and Australia. That is what we are doing now,” she said in a radio interview. Amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the potential ripple effects on global fuel markets, Garin said fuel rationing is not being considered as this would be a “very disruptive” move. “I am not recommending that now to the President...I don’t think it will come to that. We will work hard to avoid that.” Oil firms agreed to implement staggered pump price adjustments beginning March 10 amid continued volatility in international oil prices linked to ongoing developments in the Middle East. The oil price hikes range from P7 to P13 per liter for gasoline, See “Worst,” A2
GRANT THORNTON REPORT: MORE PINAYS AS LEADERS NOW
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By VG Cabuag
HE Philippines saw an increase in the number of women in senior leadership this year, making it the second country with the most female representation in senior management in the world, according to Grant Thornton Women in Business 2026 report. The report said women in senior management roles in the Philippines rose to 44.5 percent this year from 43 percent last year. South Africa has the highest number of women in leadership roles at 47.3 percent. Globally, however, the report said senior management positions in businesses held by women was down to 32.9 percent from last year’s 34 percent. “Occasional fluctuations are not unusual on a long-term path to progress. Over the past 22 years, female representation has risen by 13.4 percentage points, even with occasional setbacks like this factored in,” it said. It said based on the trend line, it expects gender parity in leadership to be reached by 2051. “But for this to be achieved, figures will need to rebound quickly. This includes the percentage of businesses who have all-male
leadership teams, that increased from 4.1 percent last year to 5.7 percent,” it said. Colombia, Vietnam, India and South Africa were the new countries that joined the list of nations that have no businesses with all-male leadership teams. The Philippines has 1.1 percent of businesses with all-male leadership. The report said 98.9 percent of Filipino businesses have what they called diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in place. “This commitment is grounded not in ideals, but in business pragmatism. Gender-balanced leadership drives sharper decision-making, strengthens innovation and accelerates growth,” it said. Leadership diversity directly impacts business resilience and decision-making, according to Romualdo V. Murcia III, chairman and managing partner of P&A Grant Thornton. “In today’s competitive talent environment, organizations that visibly embed gender equality into their strategy are better positioned to attract and retain high-performing leaders. Commitment must translate into measurable outcomes,” Murcia said. See “Leaders,” A2
VOICING EQUALITY AT THE U.N. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. addresses delegates at the opening of the 70th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) at United Nations Headquarters in New York City on Monday, saying governments cannot credibly claim progress if women remain excluded from power and opportunity. Framing his remarks around education, economic participation and protection from abuse, Marcos said real development should be measured by whether women are educated, secure and able to influence policy. Marcos also met with UN Secretary-General António Guterres to discuss the Philippines’s commitment to advancing women’s rights, regional security concerns and Manila’s campaign for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2027–2028. TROI SANTOS
No progress if women still shut out—PBBM at UN
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By Troi Santos
EW YORK CITY—President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday told a United Nations forum in New York that governments cannot credibly claim to be advancing if women are still shut out of power and opportunity. Speaking at the opening of the 70th
session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), he said genuine progress requires women to take part in decision-making at every level of society. Marcos said women should be in the room whenever decisions are made, in politics, business, research, diplomacy and peace efforts, and argued that a country’s
development should be judged by whether women are educated, secure and able to influence policy, rather than by economic indicators alone. The Philippine leader framed his remarks around three themes— schooling, economic prospects and protection from abuse. He called education the basic precondition
for equal participation and warned that nations that allow girls to drop out of school are effectively holding back their own development. On the economic front, he said women need real access to employment, finance, entrepreneurship and senior posts, and urged governments and companies to remove remaining barriers. See “Women,” A11
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 59.5520 n JAPAN 0.3777 n UK 80.0677 n HK 7.6158 n CHINA 8.6201 n SINGAPORE 46.7331 n AUSTRALIA 42.1390 n EU 69.3185 n KOREA 0.0406 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.8645 Source: BSP (March 10, 2026)