I just reviewed the latest figures from the Filipino Filipinas PIB, and the situation is quite interesting. The growth of assets in Q4 2025 slowed significantly — the 44 largest universal and commercial banks in the country expanded their assets by 8.54% year-over-year, a clear deceleration from 10.02% the previous year. What’s curious is that loans grew even more slowly, just 10.12% year-over-year, the weakest pace in nearly two and a half years.

This slowdown is entirely related to what happened in the Filipino Filipinas economy during that quarter. The PIB expanded only 3% annually in Q4, well below the 5.3% from a year earlier. Additionally, there was a corruption scandal that undoubtedly affected confidence. Inflation in December reached 1.8%, more moderate than in previous years, prompting the central bank to cut rates by 25 basis points at the end of the year.

The positive is that the quality of portfolio improved. The ratio de adecuación de capital fell to 3.07%, below the 3.11% from a year ago. The three big players in the system — BDO, Metrobank, and BPI — maintain their dominance, with BDO leading in assets at P5.41 billones. Although the rentabilidad sobre capital decreased to 6.97% from 8.98%, key indicators of solidity such as the ratio de adecuación de capital (21.21%) and the apalancamiento ratio (11.73%) remain well above regulatory minimums, showing that Filipinas banks have robust capital cushions to absorb shocks.

In summary, we see a Filipinas banking sector adapting to a more challenging economic environment but maintaining solid fundamentals. The question now is whether this credit deceleration will continue in 2026 or if the economy will rebound.