Banking & Insurance

Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co. Ltd. (SMFL) is expanding its Philippine footprint after completing the acquisition of a 30 percent stake in RCBC Leasing & Finance Corp. (RLFC), positioning the Japanese financial services group to tap growing demand for leasing and asset financing.

Manulife president and chief executive officer Phil Witherington visited Manila recently to meet with Chinabank’s executive leadership, highlighting the deepening long-standing bancassurance partnership between the two firms through Manulife China Bank Life Assurance Corporation (MCBL).

Allianz PNB Life (AZPNBL) nearly doubled new business in the first half of 2026, lifting the insurer to third place in the Philippine life insurance industry as it marked its 10th year of operations.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Thursday delivered a preemptive 25-basis-point rate hike and left the door open to further tightening as stubborn inflationary pressures threaten to keep prices above the central bank’s target range.

Singapore-based Levanta Renewables has reached financial close on its 166-megawatt peak solar power plant paired with an 80-megawatt-hour battery energy storage system in Barotac Viejo, Iloilo, sealing the ₱6.215-billion co-financing deal with Philippine National Bank during an August 5, 2026 ceremony at Makati Shangri-La.