Domestic claims of nonbank financial firms grew by 12.2% in the first quarter of the year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Monday.
Data from the BSP’s Other Financial Corporations Survey (OFCS) showed domestic claims of firms climbed to P8.22 trillion in the January-to-March period from the P7.33 trillion seen in the same period a year ago.
“The growth in the OFCs’ domestic claims in Q1 2023 was due to higher claims on the depository corporations (DCs), the central government and the other sectors,” the central bank said in a statement on Monday.
The OFCS is an analytical survey of the assets and liabilities of the OFC sector. It uses standardized report forms as required by the International Monetary Fund.
These include individual financial statements from insurance firms, holding companies, government financial institutions, investment companies, and other financial intermediaries, as well as consolidated financial statements from trust institutions.
“In particular, the OFCs’ claims on DCs expanded significantly, owing mainly to the growth in the sector’s deposits in banks and holdings of bank-issued equity shares. Similarly, claims on the central government rose, following OFCs’ increased holdings of government securities,” the BSP said.
Claims on depository corporations surged by 30.8% year on year to P2.05 trillion and increased by 8.4% from the level seen in the fourth quarter of 2022.
OFCs’ net claims on the central government grew by 19.4% year on year to P1.98 trillion in the first quarter and rose by 5.4% from the prior three-month period.
“Likewise, the OFCs’ claims on other sectors, particularly the private sector, grew slightly, primarily on account of increased loans extended to the households and the nonfinancial corporations,” the BSP said.
By component, the bulk of the OFCs’ domestic claims during the quarter was mainly composed of claims on other sectors — particularly the private sector. This was followed by claims on DCs and the central government.
The private sector includes other nonfinancial corporations, households and nonprofit institutions serving households.
The other nonfinancial corporations refer to private corporations and quasi-corporations whose principal activity is the production of market goods or nonfinancial services.
Meanwhile, net foreign assets of OFCs rose by 20.8% to P304.3 billion in the first quarter from P251.98 billion in the same period a year earlier. It also grew by 16.5% versus the prior quarter.
“The claims on nonresidents expanded mainly due to the OFCs’ increased investments in debt securities issued by nonresidents. The sector’s liabilities to nonresidents grew slightly due to higher reinsurance payables to nonresidents,” the BSP said.
Reinsurance liabilities consist of premiums due to reinsurers, which represent premiums payable by the insurance companies to all their reinsurers.
“The expansion in the OFCs’ gross assets was funded mainly by its issuances of shares and other equity to other sectors,” it added.
Claims of OFCs on nonresidents rose by 12.9% year on year to P477.33 billion. Liabilities to nonresidents inched up by 1.2% year on year to P173.03 billion. — Keisha B. Ta-asan