Bank deposits reach over P21 trillion at end-September

DEPOSITS in Philippine banks went up by 7.55% year on year to P21.059 trillion as of September from P19.581 trillion a year ago, based on the latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

This is as the number of deposit accounts also climbed by 20.38% year on year to 166.523 million from 138.335 million. Depositors likewise increased by 18.68% to 147.612 million from 124.378 million.

Some P8.981 trillion of the Philippine banking system’s deposit liabilities at end-September were in savings accounts. This consisted of regular savings amounting to P7.444 trillion, kiddie and teen savings at P54.877 billion, and other savings worth P1.452 trillion.

Meanwhile, time deposits made up P6.307 trillion of the total, while demand deposits amounted to P5.771 trillion.

Universal and commercial banks held deposits valued at P19.65 trillion at end-September, 7.01% higher than the P18.362 trillion recorded last year. They recorded 99.891 million in deposit accounts and 91.631 million depositors.

Deposits in thrift banks likewise rose by 24.37% to P1 trillion as of September from P804.118 billion the previous year. They had 10.105 million deposit accounts and 9.879 million depositors.

Meanwhile, deposits held by rural and cooperative banks fell by 11.63% to P289.189 billion from P327.26 billion a year prior. The sector logged 25.83 million deposit accounts and 25.691 million depositors in the period.

Lastly, digital banks’ total deposits reached P119.548 billion, growing by 36.8% from P87.391 billion in the comparable year-ago period. These banks had a total of 30.697 million deposit accounts and 20.411 million depositors.

“Larger cash inflows, particularly in the areas of global trade and remittances during the period, may have contributed to having large budget surpluses among households and businesses. This has helped in the rising deposit figures since more cash is now available,” Reinielle Matt M. Erece, economist at Oikonomia Advisory and Research, Inc., said in a Viber message. — Katherine K. Chan