The much-anticipated Fed lift-off finally took place last December, with interest rates moving up on signs of a gradual revival of the US economy. Other concerns that made for a challenging 2015 were slowing inflation in the Eurozone and Japan, economic restructuring in China, and the sharp drop in oil prices.
But despite all that, it was, on balance, another good year for our economy in general, and the banking sector in particular. The Philippine economy continued to expand, with 2015 inflation settling at 1.4%, our lowest in 20 years.