THE CENTRAL BANK’S monetary policy tightening to combat stubbornly high commodity prices dragged the domestic financial markets last year.

Listed banks largely grew last year thanks to the central bank’s massive interest rate hikes that improved the lenders’ margins.

“IT’S MORE expensive now. Our grocery expenses before reach P1,500, it doubled now because of the price,” Kaye Nana, a self-employed mother of one, said during an interview, discussing her monthly expenses.

THE Philippines’ banking and financial sector has always been the target of criminals in the past decades. With the rapid shift to remote/hybrid working environment that prompted people to maximize its digital transactions, threats in the financial sector continue to grow at a faster pace.

“REDEFINING financial crime compliance to make the world a better place.”

PESO DEPRECIATION, rising interest rates, and high inflation swayed financial markets in the Philippine landscape in the third quarter, indicating a gloomy outlook for the rest of the year.

LISTED BANKS saw their loan books increase in the third quarter as the economy further reopened but analysts warned the massive rate hikes to curb multi-year high inflation could dampen this next year.

MORE than two years since the coronavirus pandemic struck, the country’s banking system has not been left unscathed. Amid the geopolitical uncertainties, surging commodity prices, and rising interest rates, a couple of foreign banks opted to leave the country.

KAMILA O. PARAS, a 59-year-old local government unit employee, was one of the few Filipinos that got cold feet when it comes to credit.

WITH THE EXITING of retail banks in the country that offers digital banking services, Filipinos have been looking for other banks to transfer to.

DOMESTIC financial markets may see a lukewarm performance in the remaining months of the year as major central banks around the world grapple to tame inflation.

RISING INTEREST RATES and further reopening of the economy brought strong earnings to listed banks in the second quarter.