Remittances grew faster in April — Bangko Sentral

Cash remittances recovered in April after a slowdown the month previous, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data released Monday showed.  

 

Money transfers by Filipinos working and living abroad that were coursed through banks grew at annual rate of 6.1 percent to $1.804 billion in April—significantly faster than the 3.0 percent posted in March which was the slowest in over three years. 

 

In the first four months of the year, cash remittances totaled $6.916 billion—a 5.7 percent increase that eclipsed the central bank's 5 percent forecast for the year. 

 

Meanwhile, personal remittances—which include cash transfers made through banks and hand-carry transfers both in cash and in kind—reached $2.003 billion, up 7 percent from a year, central bank data showed. 

 

Personal remittances totaled $7.652 billion in the first four months or a 6.4-percent increase year-on-year.

 

“Remittances remained robust on the back of sustained demand for skilled Filipino manpower in various countries worldwide,” Bangko Sentral noted in a statement. 

 

It cited a Philippine Overseas Employment Administration report that 367,738 job orders were processed in January to May. 

 

Expansion in operations of remittance service providers across the globe were also seen as having broadened the capture of remittances through the formal channels, the central bank said. 

 

“The continued expansion of bank and non-bank service providers' international market coverage through tie-ups and establishment of remittance centers abroad to capture a larger share of the global market likewise provided support to the steady flow of remittances,” it noted. 

 

Overseas cash remittances hit a record $21.391 billion last year, up 6.3 percent from the $20.117 billion posted in 2011. — Siegfrid Alegado/VS, GMA News