Nonbanks’ domestic claims go up
DOMESTIC CLAIMS of non-bank financial firms rose year on year in the first quarter, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.
Preliminary data from the BSP’s Other Financial Corporations Survey (OFCS) showed domestic claims of nonbanks jumped by 12.9% to P9.31 trillion in the January-March period from P8.24 trillion a year prior.
This also increased by 2.8% from P9.05 trillion in the previous quarter.
The OFCS is an analytical survey of the assets and liabilities of the OFC sector. It uses standardized report forms as required by the International Monetary Fund.
These include individual financial statements from nonbank financial companies, which include insurance firms, holding companies, government financial institutions, investment companies, and other financial intermediaries, as well as consolidated financial statements from trust institutions.
The central bank said the year-on-year growth in domestic claims was “driven by the rise in the sector’s claims on the private sector, the central government, and the depository corporations.”
“In particular, the increase in the other financial corporations’ claims was due to the expansion in claims on the private sector,” it said.
OFCs’ claims on the private sector rose by 9.9% to P4.61 trillion in the first quarter from P4.19 trillion in the same period a year ago. Quarter on quarter, it went up by 2.6% from P4.49 trillion.
“Moreover, the sector’s claims on the central government grew on account of higher holdings of government-issued debt securities. The sector’s claims on the depository corporations also rose as its deposits with banks increased,” the BSP said.
In the first three months, net claims on the central government jumped by 18.5% to P2.35 trillion from P1.98 trillion in the previous year. It was also up by 3.5% from P2.27 trillion a quarter ago.
Claims on depository corporations climbed by 13.9% to P2.34 trillion from P2.05 trillion a year ago. It was also higher by 2.6% from the P2.28 trillion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023.
BSP data showed that claims on other sectors accounted for the bulk of domestic claims in the first quarter.
This rose by 9.9% to P4.62 trillion from P4.21 trillion a year earlier and was up by 2.5% from P4.51 trillion a quarter ago.
Other sectors include the state and local government, public nonfinancial firms, and the private sector.
Meanwhile, net foreign assets of OFCs surged by 33.3% year on year to P409.028 billion from P306.785 billion. This likewise grew by 5.2% from P388.656 billion in the previous quarter.
Claims of OFCs on nonresidents rose to P584.655 billion, higher by 22.5% and 3% a year ago and in the quarter earlier, respectively. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson