I would like to highlight that remittances had demonstrated resilience, declining by a mere 0.9 percent in the first ten months of 2020, hence our optimistic forecast for this year. • External accounts to remain healthy—with the gross international reserves staying above USD 100 billion and a current account surplus.
In addition, the banking sector—which enjoyed regulatory relief measures from the BSP and with an enabling law to get rid of bad assets (FIST)—will remain strong and stable. The Philippine banking system continues to have capitalization and liquidity levels well above the regulatory requirements, while non-performing loans (NPLs), albeit slightly higher, remain manageable.