BDO Unibank, Bank of the Philippine Islands, and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co.—the largest, second and fourth largest lenders by assets, according to a central bank report—also reported improvements in their nonperforming loan ratios on the growth of the loan portfolio and the steady or lower nonperforming loans.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Finance (DOF) have approved the lifting of the moratorium under Administrative Order (AO) 18, clearing the way for more office developments to qualify as Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) economic zones and expanding location options for information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) investors.
The Philippines is accelerating talks on two major trade fronts, aiming to conclude an updated economic partnership agreement with Japan by November while edging closer to a free trade deal with Canada as the Marcos administration pushes to expand export markets and attract more investments.