The Philippine financial system’s resources expanded by more than 6 percent in July, reflecting continued growth in the country’s banking sector and alignment with the broader economy, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

According to the BSP, total resources of banks and non-bank financial institutions reached P34.59 trillion in July, up from P32.50 trillion a year earlier.

Of this, banks accounted for P28.60 trillion, higher than P26.79 trillion in July 2024.

Universal and commercial banks, on the other hand, posted the largest increase, with resources rising to P26.66 trillion from P25.10 trillion.

Thrift banks’ resources also expanded to P1.37 trillion, while digital banks reached P141.7 billion, and rural and cooperative banks stood at P424.9 billion.

Meanwhile, the total resources of non-bank financial institutions climbed to P5.99 trillion, from P5.70 trillion in the same month last year.

These include BSP-supervised entities such as investment houses, financing companies, securities dealers, pawnshops, lending firms, credit card issuers, and government non-bank financial institutions.

“The latest year-on-year growth in the total resources of the financial system is consistent with the GDP growth of 5.5 percent,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation chief economist Michael Ricafort, reacting to the BSP report, said.

He added that potential interest rate cuts by both the US Federal Reserve and the BSP could support further expansion by lowering borrowing costs, spurring credit demand, and boosting banks’ total resources.