The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Monday said remittances by Filipinos overseas will likely grow by 5 percent next year, the same as the growth forecast for money transfers this year. 

 

In the first five months of 2012, remittances grew 5.3 percent to $8.31 billion year-on-year, the Bangko Sentral earlier reported.

 

The latest remittance data showed money transfers from Filipinos overseas would continue growing this year and next year despite the lingering sovereign debt and banking crises in Europe, said Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo.

 

“We’re [BSP] still hopeful that remittance growth will be at least 5 percent,” Guinigundo told reporters in an interview.

 

“In the past, even if you had two Gulf wars – 1991 and 2003 – remittances held steady. So by the same token I think we should be able to see stable remittance growth,” the central bank official added. — VS, GMA News