Number of bank HQs, branches in PHL passes 9,000 mark

The number of bank head offices and branches in the Philippines rose to 9,301 as of the end of September 2012, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas shows. The number is up from 8,495 as of end-June 2012 and shows an increase of 1,066 from the same period in 2011. Of the latest total, 705 are head offices—and therefore representing the number of players in the industry—and 8,596 are branches. Central bank data shows that the number of industry players has actually declined from 730 in September 2011, due mainly to bank closures in the rural bank sector. The BSP earlier reported that the country's universal and commercial banks had a combined net income of P80.11 billion in the first three quarters of 2012, 15 percent up from P69.63 billion for the same period in 2011. — BM, GMA News