Better banking fuels economic growth in Eastern Visayas - NEDA

TACLOBAN CITY, Aug. 1 (PNA) –- The government tagged banking as one of the growth drivers in the 2015 economy of poverty-stricken Eastern Visayas region.

“The financial intermediation subsector increased by 1.5 percentage points from the previous year’s growth. We highlight the positive performance of the banking sector in particular,” said NEDA Regional Director Bonifacio Uy.

Financial intermediation falls under the services sector, one of the three sectors of the Gross Regional Domestic Product. In 2015, services grew by 6.8 percent, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Overall, the region’s economy rebounded from 2.4 percent decline in 2014 to 3.9 percent growth last year.

Bank deposits in Eastern Visayas grew by 20.3 percent to PHP85.06 billion in 2015, showing a sustained economic recovery from the devastation of the 2013 super typhoon Yolanda.

The region’s deposit portfolio managed to maintain its annual growth rate in the past three years despite impacts of the monster typhoon that worsened the region’s poverty incidence in 2014.

“Multiplier effects of government spending for rehabilitation as well as increased savings and volume of remittances from international non-government organizations,” Uy added.

Loan portfolio also increased by 7.8 percent to PHP19.9 billion on the back of business expansion and increased consumer loans, which could be associated to the reconstruction activities in the aftermath of super typhoon Yolanda.

Number of banks increased to 196 in 2014 from 181 in the previous year. All provinces also posted significant growth in both accounts and deposits. (PNA)
LAP/SARWELL Q. MENIANO