CEBU has sustained the growth of money deposits held by its banking sector, topping other provinces outside the capital region in terms of deposit value.
The southern financial hub saw its banks holding P521.62 billion, making it the province outside Metro Manila sustaining the highest deposit amount as of end-2018.
Based on latest data from the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) obtained by SunStar Cebu, Cebu City, the provincial capital and business hub, posted the highest deposits in Central Visayas at P355.02 billion as of 2018.
Cebu had a total of 614 bank branches, 252 of them in Cebu City.
It also had a total of 2,688,890 bank accounts across the province.
Sustained growth seen
Cebu Bankers Club (CBC) president Neil Darwin Credo credited the strong bank deposit growth in Cebu to investors pouring money into the country’s second largest urban center.
“Big developers from Manila are coming over for new developments. Other foreign companies are having joint ventures with local companies, including big infrastructure projects,” the bank executive said.
“More developments, more investors, more overseas Filipino workers’ remittances will mean more deposits for banks,” Credo said.
CBC past president Maximo Eleccion said Cebu’s banking sector will sustain this growth, given the robust economic activity.
“Growth in deposits is expected because of the rapid development of the area,” Eleccion said.
“You can see almost all banks are expanding and opening new branches, because we want to support a lot of businesses that are also expanding.”
Construction, consumption drive banking activities
Cebu’s status as a trading hub and its robust consumption are also supporting this growth.
“We also see migration here in Cebu because of the high employment opportunities that are giving good and higher salaries,” Eleccion said.
“We are expecting growth in deposits to continue as evidenced by sprawling constructions that are giving more employment opportunities. Real estate developers are also bullish because of the high demand for residential areas to support migration to the metropolis,” he noted.
Aside from economic expansion, the increasing population in Cebu is also driving banking growth.
Other drivers cited include the increasing employment, robust consumer spending and household expenditure.
Based on the PDIC data, bank deposits in the whole Central Visayas—which covers Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquijor—hit P631.78 billion as of end-2018, with a total of 3,836,377 bank accounts.
The region also had a total of 849 bank branches.
Bank deposits in Bohol reached P50.93 billion; Negros Oriental, P55.58 billion; and Siquijor, P3.64 billion.
Savings and time deposits remained the main fund sources of local banks.
Other deposits include demand deposits and foreign currency deposit units.