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Banking & Finance
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BSP allows FX transactions for e-Commerce operators
THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) liberalized foreign exchange (FX) regulations anew to accommodate new trends in the…
Psalm Paco-Manila lot attracts three buyers
THE Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and two more firms expressed interest in acquiring the Paco-Manila property of the…
SSS issues advisory on branch servicing during ECQ
THE Social Security System (SSS) advises its members, pensioners, covered employers and the transacting public that various servicing…
Big value in small doses
WHEN relating to existing and prospective members, many associations still fall into the trap of communicating value by…
Unionbank taps India firm for SaaS platform
UNION Bank of the Philippines (Unionbank) announced last August 3 that it tapped a unit of a subsidiary…
BDO reaffirms pledge for low-carbon regime
THE largest bank in the country expressed commitment to promote efforts towards sustainable finance to help achieve the…
AUB’s H1 net down on lower trading and securities gains
ASIA United Bank’s (AUB) consolidated net income fell in the first half of the year, resulting largely from…
Regulator warns public on unlicensed insurers
THE Insurance Commission (IC) has warned the public against two unlicensed entities selling insurance products. In a statement…
BOC issues rules on disposing condemned goods
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) issued rules and regulations providing for the mechanism to expedite the disposition and…
PNB net income soars to ₧22.1 billion in first half
THE Philippine National Bank (PNB) reported last Wednesday that its net income hit P22.1 billion in the first…
RCBC wins big in global digital innovations awards
Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) continues to gain international recognition for its outstanding initiatives in digital banking. RCBC…
Government keen to give tax relief for medical oxygen-makers
THE government is preparing to provide tax relief to manufacturers of medical oxygen as it expects a surge…
7-year T-bonds get flurry of bids; ₧35 billion awarded
THE Bureau of the Treasury fully awarded P35 billion in new 7-year Treasury Bonds (T-bonds) on Tuesday. The…
San Miguel unit plunks ₧5.5 billion into Bank of Commerce
SMC Equivest Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of San Miguel Corp. (SMC), announced on Tuesday it has invested P5.5…
Insurer responds to PGH’s emergency donation drive
To help in the recovery of its surgical operations after a fire broke damaging its hospital facilities and…
Lockdown puts dollar-bonds launch in limbo
SMALL lenders may have to hold on to their cash as the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) cancelled…
BPI Direct BanKo, IFC ink deal to aid micro-entrepreneurs
BPI Direct BanKo Inc., the microfinance arm of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), inked an agreement…
Investing has a deeper meaning
AFTER understanding your risk profile, its definition and the different types of financial instruments, it would be better…
BSP opens Anti-Money Laundering Council Satellite Office in Quezon City
BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin E. Diokno formally opened the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Satellite Office at…
P&A Grant Thornton seeks to make a mark in edtech
GOING beyond its traditional role as a number cruncher, P&A Grant Thornton is making a bid to be…
Driving ESG initiatives for local government
AS Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues and initiatives climb higher on corporate agendas amid growing public awareness…
Sans order for loan moratorium, BSP asks lenders to offer relief
THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) urged local lenders to give relief to their loan customers during the…
Insurer rebrands Philam firm as ‘AIA Philippines’
AN AIA Group Ltd. subsidiary is being rebranded from “AIA Philam Life” to “AIA Philippines.” Following the rebrand,…
PNB waives transfer fees for InstaPay & PESONet during the ECQ
PHILIPPINE National Bank (PSE: PNB) is waiving the transfer fees for all purely domestic transactions of InstaPay and…
PSBank ends 1H2021 with Php 879 million net income
Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank), the thrift banking arm of the Metrobank Group, registered a net income of Php…
Set of rules for coco levy fund disbursement out soon–DOF
THE set of guidelines on the disbursement of allocations under the coco levy trust fund for the implementation…
Open Finance Oversight Committee established
THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced that it has facilitated the establishment of the Open Finance Oversight…
BSP calls on stakeholders to prep for ‘New Economy’
BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno encouraged the 2021 “Outstanding BSP Stakeholders” to prepare for…
Tiered membership: The power to choose
I have read that there are two sacred cows in association management dynamics: governance structure and membership model. Based…
Standard Chartered CEO cites inclusive leadership
STANDARD Chartered Bank CEO Lynette V. Ortiz believes inclusive leadership is crucial in supporting women employees and promoting…
Prosecute credit-card fraudsters–Gatchalian
SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian urged authorities to ensure that credit-card fraudsters will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted…
Government raises ₧35 billion from selling IOUs with lower coupon rate
THE Bureau of the Treasury borrowed P35 billion from the local debt market as it fully awarded reissued…
Mastercard to sell online payment platform to SMEs
Mastercard Inc. announced it recently launched a simple and secure platform it says would “enable small business to…
Reimagining tomorrow
AMONG the three major sectors of the Philippine economy, agriculture was least affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in…
Metrobank says H1 net income up 28%
METROPOLITAN Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) reported a net income of P11.7 billion, accelerating its earnings to 28…
Insular Life names new COO
THE Insular Life Assurance Co. Ltd. announced it has appointed Efren C. Caringal Jr. as Chief Operating Officer…
Private school tax rates get Congress’ focus
THE House Committee on Ways and Means endorsed for plenary approval last August 2 a substitute bill defining…
BTr fully awards P15B in T-bills; bids reach P50.8B
THE Bureau of the Treasury fully awarded P15 billion (T-bills) in Treasury Bills (T-bills) on Monday as rates…
On money scams and how to avoid them
THE title of my column now may sound like a popular movie about finding magical creatures. In real…
Fuel marking raises ₧264.5B since 2019
DUTIES and taxes collected by the government from its fuel marking program have reached P264.5 billion. This is…
Bill increasing DBP’s authorized capital gets House OK
THE House of Representatives on Monday approved on third and final reading a bill increasing the authorized capital…
Redesigning services using timely customer data, analytics and insights
LOCAL governments, as noted, have opportunities to change how they work using technology. Better personalization, effective identity management,…
Unionbank launches all-in-1 online payment platform
UNION Bank of the Philippines on Friday launched an all-in-one payment acceptance hub in an effort to complete…
PHL still one of world’s most congested–WB
THE Philippines remains one of the most congested worldwide based on traffic and difficulties in land registration, according…
Domestic claims of other financial entities grew 9%
THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that the domestic claims of “other financial corporations,” or OFCs, grew…
Fintech development seen to aid PHL on course to ‘hyper growth’
THE Philippines is on the cusp of a “hyper growth course” despite the pandemic and the development of…
BSP tweaking rules to fuel bank loans to farm sector
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) wants to include sustainable financing, or extending so-called “green loans” to corporations,…
Private schools tax-hike rule suspended by BIR
THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) suspended the implementation of certain provisions of its tax regulation that would…
Advancing good governance in associations
ON the invitation of the Brussels-based AssociationWorld Foundation, I recently attended its webinar on “Moving from Governance to…
PHL gets $400-million ADB loan for youth support program
THE Philippines has secured another loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) this time to support efforts to…
Bids for T-bonds hit more than double ₧30B offered
THE Bureau of the Treasury fully awarded P35 billion in reissued 7-year Treasury Bonds (T-bonds) as investors swamped…
Co-ops’ credit reporting to be digitized by firms
MANILA and DAVAO CITY–TECHNOLOGY firm TransUnion Information Solutions Inc. announced having entered into an agreement with 1 Cooperative…
Paying a fine for violating traffic rules? Use a phone
TRAFFIC fines and penalties for all types of violations of traffic rules and regulations can now be settled…
Paying attention to agriculture
OVER the years, compared to the other economic pillars of our gross domestic product, namely, industry and services,…
T-bills auction gets near-3x bid amid Delta variant fears
THE Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) fully awarded P15 billion in Treasury Bills (T-bills) as rates moved sideways…
Manulife exec sees REITs for long-term investment
EXECUTIVES of an insurance firm said the real estate investment trust (REIT) is a good investment in the…
BDO, American Express offer card for online shopping
SY-led BDO Unibank Inc. and multinational financial services firm American Express Co. teamed up to launch a virtual…
Investing in the stock market
DO you want to grow your hard- earned money? Or maybe you have goals in the future that…
Credit Suisse brain drain hits investment bank
WHEN a US insurer indicated it was looking to sell its European business earlier this year, Credit Suisse…
Cyber security gaps in infrastructure
THOUGH cyber security experts have long warned of the threats to nations’ critical infrastructure, recent incidents are now…
Adviser wants safeguard rules vs PHL-made vehicles removed
THE Tariff Commission (TC) reported that the locally produced motor vehicles are “directly competitive” products to imported units,…
Industry groups hail BIR move to halt export tax
EXPORTERS were relieved when the government decided to suspend a recent revenue regulation imposing tax—which is seen as…
What associations can learn from museums
YOU may wonder what associations and museums have in common. For one, both have been adversely affected by…
‘Banks’ accountability for cash agents will protect consumers’
SENATOR Grace L. Poe reminded banks to “take responsibility” for their cash agents. Poe conveyed the reminder as…
BPI posts highest quarterly income amid drop in loans
THE Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) reported a double-digit growth in its net income in the second…
PHL non-life insurers expected to accelerate digitization
THE country’s non-life insurance companies are expected to accelerate developing their digital infrastructure and product offerings as the…
Business’ path to ‘green’ recovery needs funds–ADB
LOCAL businesses can lead the green recovery but only with sufficient support to finance their needs especially after…
BSP poll: PHL bankers subdued on economy, but see their sector faring well in 2021
LOCAL lenders see the Philippine economy underperforming against the government’s target range for the year as the lingering…
Schools facing ‘onerous’ tax rate urge corrective actions
PRIVATE schools are asking President Duterte to endorse in his last State of the Nation Address (SONA) the…
France endows RBAP ₧47.9M for digitization
THE French government has extended a grant of P47.9 million (about $943,839.80 at current exchange rates) to the…
Awaiting NGCP’s IPO
WOULDN’T you want to invest in a very profitable company that enjoys monopoly through a government franchise lasting…
Tougher protection for OFW remittances under way
THE Senate Committees on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies and on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development are…
Lender sees borrower uptick as Pinoys start buying more
LOCAL consumer financing company Home Credit expects loans to pick up in the remaining months of the year…
Diokno: Deal only with certified operators of payments systems
BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno urged the public to only transact with registered operators…
BTr fully awards ₧15B in T-bills amid rates rise
THE Bureau of the Treasury fully awarded P15 billion in Treasury Bills (T-bills) despite a rise in rates…
BOC to remit all excess balance of trust fund to Treasury
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) vowed on Monday to remit all excess balance of its trust accounts to…
Invest in yourself
INVESTING in yourself is not just about growing money and having the wisdom to handle your income: it…
Financial literacy program honored with Stevie Award
THE local business of Pru Life Insurance Corp. of UK (Pru Life UK) announced its financial literacy program…
Security Bank cites award, advisory for ops on July 20
Security Bank Corp. announced it was recently recognized as the Philippines’s “Best for High Net Worth (HNW) Clients.”…
Blurring lines between care and the community
COMMUNITY-based care can be viewed as healthcare systems’ way of becoming more patient-centric, by shifting care where possible,…
Stiffer penalties against ‘abusive’ lenders pushed
DEPLORING questionable debt collection practices, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian is pushing early passage of remedial legislation imposing sanctions…
Excise tax collection from ‘sin’ products surges 15.8% in Q1
THE national government collected P67.3 billion in excise taxes from “sin” products in the first quarter of the…
Finex supports financial consumer protection bill
THE Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (Finex) released a statement over the weekend, calling for the “immediate…
Standard Chartered cuts growth forecast by 2.5%
THE Philippine economy is expected to perform lackluster this year, as the Duterte administration is unlikely to meet…
BSP plans to tap rural banks for financial line to MSMEs
THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is working on a framework that will improve rural banks’ ability to…
Insurance firms get respite from meeting reporting rule
THE Insurance Commission (IC) once again extended regulatory relief on admittance of Premiums Receivable account for all non-life…
A VISUAL experience framework for associations
One of the trends I wrote about in my January 1, 2021, column was that virtual engagement with…
Mobile-based lender hits 1 million borrowers
LOCAL mobile phone-based lender Tala Financing Philippines Inc. announced its borrower base has hit a million in the…
Suspend 12% VAT on oil products–Sen. Marcos
Citing the crippling economic backlash of the Covid-19 pandemic, Sen. Imee Marcos moved for a one-year suspension of…
T-bonds fetch coupon rate higher than BVAL’s
INVESTORS continue to swamp the securities market with bids for the new 20-year Treasury bonds (T-bonds) nearly-twice oversubscribed…
SCB’s trading chief gets financial markets post
Standard Chartered Bank has appointed Marvin Eugene Antonio as Head of Financial Markets for the Philippines in addition…
Transco open to remitting all 2020 income to BTr
State-run National Transmission Corp. (Transco) announced it is “open” to remitting all its 2020 net income to the…
Dovish China tilt divides market on rate trimming
China’s surprising dovish about-turn last week is dividing the market over the severity of the nation’s economic slowdown…
Sugar smuggling suspected from SRA export refill plan
THE Department of Finance (DOF) has ordered the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to sniff out sugar smuggling following…
Weak peso pushes T-bill rates up; government bags ₧15 billion
ALL tenors of Treasury Bills (T-bills) fetched higher rates on Monday as the Philippine peso already breached the…
Sluggish credit growth threatens recovery–Salceda
Without a right stimulus program, the sluggish credit growth of the Philippines can further threaten the country’s economic…
Why financial planning is important?
DID you experience having a hard time in managing your finances? Having debts due to excessive expenses or…
LandBank awarded top taxpayer by Manila LGU
State-run Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) was awarded as one of the “Top 10 Business Taxpayers for…
Credit registry hikes fee for report on borrowers
THE Credit Information Corp. (CIC) announced it has issued a new pricing scheme for financial institutions using its…
More OFWs borrowing to build business–LandBank
STATE-owned lender Land Bank of the Philippines Inc. said Filipino migrant workers are increasingly tapping the bank’s overseas…