We remain confident that despite the recent surge in cases, the government’s vaccination program will take shape as planned, and the economy can take off significantly toward the end of the year. The Banking System The Philippine banking system remains strong and well capitalized. We’ve learned our lessons from the Asian Financial Crisis.
As of end-2020, the Philippine banking system (PBS) has exhibited sustained growth in assets, adequate liquidity buffers, strong capital position, and ample loan loss reserves. The assets of the banking system managed to grow from 2019 by 6.1 percent to P19.4 trillion as of end-2020. The growth was mainly driven by higher deposits, which rose by 8.9 percent in 2020.