The confidence of the public in depositing money in banks has strengthened during the pandemic, resulting in an increase in bank deposits, according to the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC).
Jose Villaret, Jr., vice president of corporate affairs group, said in a Kapihan hosted by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) that the reason cited is the interest of the public to save in preparation for a crisis.
The PDIC recorded bank deposits amounting to almost P14.9 trillion in December 2020, up from P13.6 trillion as of December 2019. In 2021, Philippine banks reached a total deposit of P16.2 trillion.
“Suprisingly, deposits increased– lumalabas na sa panahon na medyo tingin natin tagilid, nagtitiwala ang mga tao na magtabi at maglagak ng panahon sa bangko. There are reasons behind that, number one, nakita ng tao na hindi pa tapos ang krisis, kailangan paghandaan,” he said.
In the Philippines, approximately 97 percent of deposit accounts are P500,000 or less.
PDIC also noticed that some businesses put off plans to grow so they could save money and put it in banks.
“Iyon ang nakikita nating trend ngayon, if they see that there’s still challenging times ahead–some people defer their consumption and expenses, hindi sila nagbibiyahe, nagtitipid, hindi sila gumagasta nang husto. Some businesses defer decisions to expand, they keep their money in bank,” he said.
PDIC encourages the public to deposit their savings in banks to ensure the safety of their money. Despite the pandemic, it continuously pushes financial literacy initiatives to encourage the public to save and boost confidence in deposit insurance.
“Ngayon pa lang uli nagsisimula magbukas ang mga probinsya– sa aming financial literacy, lagi namin sinasabi na ang pag-iipon ay importante at nakikita natin ngayon sa trend ng depositors ng banking system. Hindi porke maliit ang kinikita mo ay hindi ka pwede mag-ipon. In fact, we see now that deposits in smaller balances,” he said.
