PHL banking system net income grows 10.6% By Cai U. Ordinario
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HE Philippine banking system posted a 10.64 percent growth in its net income in the first quarter of 2025, according to data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The net income of the banking sector increased to P101.9 billion as of March 2025 from P92.11 billion as of March 2024. The banking industry’s total operating income grew 12.15 percent to P336.9 billion in the period ending March 2025 from the P300.39 billion posted in the
same period last year. BSP data showed net interest income of the banking industry reached P274.23 billion in the first quarter this year. The data showed this represented an 11.65-percent increase from the P247.41 billion posted in the first quarter of 2024. In terms of non-interest income, Philippine banks saw a 14.51-percent growth to P60.67 billion in March 2025 from P52.98 billion in March 2024. The data also showed that Universal and Commercial Banks (UKBs) posted a net profit of P94.49 billion as of March 2025. This was 8.61
percent higher than the P87 billion posted in March 2024. Thrift banks, meanwhile, posted a net profit of P5.24 billion in the first quarter of the year, a 12.36-percent growth from the P4.66 billion in the first quarter last year. The BSP also reported that Rural and Cooperative banks (RCBs) posted a net income of P3.21 billion in the first three months of the year. This was 27.88 percent higher than the P2.51 billion posted in the same period last year. Digital banks, meanwhile, posted a net loss of P1.04 billion in the period ending in March 2025. This, however, was 49.71 percent
narrower than the P2.07 billion net loss in March 2024. Meanwhile, the BSP data also showed total assets of Philippine banks reached P27.64 trillion in the first quarter of 2025. The data showed this was 7.78 percent more than the P25.65 trillion posted in the first three months of 2024. In terms of liabilities, the BSP said the banking sector saw its liabilities increase to P24.18 trillion in the period ending March 2025. The data showed that this was a 7.36-percent growth from the P22.53 trillion recorded in the period ending March 2024.
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SEA THE FUTURE President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. inspects a K745 Blue Shark lightweight torpedo during the commissioning ceremony of the BRP Miguel Malvar at the Naval Operating Base-Subic on Tuesday, highlighting the Philippines’ continued naval modernization efforts. Miguel Malvar joins the fleet alongside the BRP Alberto Majini, the eighth and latest addition to the country’s first locally assembled missile-capable patrol vessels—both signifying stronger maritime defense capabilities amid growing regional challenges. Story in A4 Nation, “We’ll give up nothing, we’ll abandon nothing–Marcos”. HENRY EMPEÑO
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By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto @reine_alberto
HE national government is unlikely to achieve its tax revenue target this year, according to a House think tank, as rising debt servicing costs threaten to erode fiscal space further. According to a discussion paper by the House of Representatives’ Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (CPBRD), weaker growth prospects and a standing moratorium on new taxes could hinder the government’s efforts to hit its tax revenue growth targets. The government aims to collect P4.332 trillion in tax revenues in 2025, while the Cabinet-level Development Budget and Coordination Committee
(DBCC) has set the total revenue target at P4.644 trillion this year. The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew lower than expected by 5.4 percent in the first quarter of the year, short of the 6 to 8 percent target of the government. Growth projections for the Philippines have been revised downwards by multilateral banks, credit raters and think tanks due to the expected
SC LIFTS TRO ON NCAP FOR MMDA-SUPERVISED ROADS By Joel R. San Juan
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@jrsanjuan1573
HE Supreme Court has allowed the implementation of the no-contact apprehension program (NCAP) along Edsa Avenue and other major thoroughfares of Metro Manila that are under the supervision of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). At a press briefing, SC spokesman, lawyer Camille Sue Mae Ting, said the court ordered the partial lifting of the TRO on NCAP during its regular en banc session on Tuesday. Ting, however, clarified that the TRO on the implementation of ordinances passed by Metro Manila local government units to
implement NCAP remains in effect. The partial lifting of the TRO, according to Ting, was sought by the Office of the Solicitor General in an urgent motion filed last May 8 on behalf of the MMDA. “This is not limited with respect to the MMDA, but it still remains with respect to the LGU ordinances. It can only be implemented by the MMDA in major thoroughfares because the MMDA resolution only refers to major thoroughfares, especially C-5 and Edsa. It will not apply to the places that are covered by the LGU ordinances such as the local streets of the cities,” the SC spokesman said. Other major thoroughfares under MMDA’s jurisdiction are Katipunan, Marcos See “SC,” A2
FORTUNE LIFE HONORS TOP ACHIEVERS AT 40TH ANNUAL AWARDS FORTUNE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY HOLDS ITS 40TH ANNUAL AWARDS ON MAY 21, 2025, AT THE MAKATI DIAMOND RESIDENCES, CELEBRATING THE EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE OF ITS TOP-TIER SALES FORCE. FEATURED IN THE CENTERSPREAD ARE PHOTOS OF THIS YEAR’S DISTINGUISHED AWARDEES. A8-A9
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PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 55.7910 n JAPAN 0.3852 n UK 74.5591 n HK 7.1339 n CHINA 7.7321 n SINGAPORE 43.0985 n AUSTRALIA 36.0242 n EU 62.7370 n KOREA 0.0402 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.8752 Source: BSP (May 20, 2025)