The Philippines continues to attract interest from foreign financial institutions due to its sound macroeconomic environment and stable investment climate, according to a ranking official of the central bank.
Chuchi Fonacier, deputy governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilpinas (BSP), shared the news of the three new entrants during a recent speech, adding that the regulator was committed to strengthening risk governance, leverage technology and achieve greater and broader access to financial services.
Fonacier said that the three foreign banks were from South Korea, Indonesia, and Hong Kong but did not disclose their names. Since former Philippines President Benign Aquino opened the market to foreign banks, the BSP has allowed 12 foreign banks to open branches and 13 to establish representative offices.
Philippines banking is trending
The three foreign entrants join a list of international developments involving global financial institutions increasing focus on the market.
Recently, Maybank announced that it would debut its Philippines wealth offering through a new Manila-based branch targeting domestic high net worth individuals. In the same month, Pru Life UK was reportedly launching a standalone asset management firm while OCBC completed its first blockchain-based remittance to the country.
