By: Michelle V. Remo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
11:49 pm | Wednesday, April 18th, 2012
About 8 of 10 heads of Filipino households do not have any bank
accounts, and most do not have enough cash saved up for emergencies.
These are some of the highlights of the first Consumer Finance Survey
(CFS) conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Monetary officials
said the results of the survey underscored the pressing need for the
banking sector to reach out to more Filipino consumers and teach them
the value of saving.
Based on the survey, most respondents who said their families did not
have any savings accounts also saw no need to apply for any type of bank
account because they would not have enough money to deposit. Other
reasons cited were the high amount of minimum deposit balance required
by banks and the aversion of most respondents in dealing with banks.
According to survey, about 4 of 10 households do not have any cash on
hand to be used in case of emergency, while 6 of 10
households have very little cash to spare. Average cash on hand of
Filipino families that may be used for emergencies stand at only P1,681.
These results may be traced partly to insufficiency of income. Also,
lack of access to banks and the high tendency of Filipinos to
spend—rather than save or invest—greatly influenced the results of the
survey, the central bank said.
BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said in a press conference Wednesday
that the survey revealed the need for greater effort "towards a more
inclusive financial system," where more people would have access to bank
products and services, such as deposits and loans.
Such an effort is necessary, Tetangco said, if the government hopes to
reduce poverty incidence.
He pointed out that the public's savings are what the banking sector
uses to extend loans to fund job-generating investments. Moreover, loans
granted to microenterprises serve to lift the income of most poor people.
Tetangco said results of the survey also raised the need for tighter
monitoring of financial transactions of consumers outside the formal
banking sector.
The survey showed that some Filipinos are inclined to deal with informal
moneylenders, which may include loan sharks, to finance their needs. One
of 10 respondents said they have dealt with moneylenders.
"There is a need to look into shadow banking transactions," Tetangco said.
BSP Assistant Governor Ma. Cyd Tuaño-Amador said that currently, the
government has no sufficient resources to regulate individual
moneylenders. She said, however, that what the BSP can do at the moment
is to strengthen its financial literacy campaign by making people aware
of the risks in dealing with informal lenders.
"Education of the public may help a lot in consumer protection," Amador
said.
Another interesting result of the survey is that 2 of 10 Filipino
households depend solely or partly on remittances to support their
expenditure requirements, indicating the importance of overseas Filipino
workers in financially supporting households in the Philippines.
Moreover, 7 of 10 Filipino households are not risk takers, prefering to
rely on fixed income rather than invest in businesses.
The survey, which took a few years to complete, covered 10,520
households nationwide. Data was collected from November 2009 to January
2010.
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