Domestic claims of other financial corporations grow by 5 percent YoY in Q4 2021

Based on preliminary data on the Other Financial Corporations Survey (OFCS), the domestic claims of the OFCs rose by 5.0 percent in Q4 2021 to ₱7,279.3 billion from ₱6,929.9 billion in Q4 2020 (Figure 1).^[1]  This increase was on account of higher claims on the private sector and net claims on the central government (CG).^[2]

The OFCs’ claims on the private sector increased by 13.8 percent in Q4 2021 to ₱4,023.7 billion from ₱3,536.4 billion in Q4 2020, owing to higher investments in equity securities issued by private nonfinancial corporations and loans extended to households. Similarly, the OFCs’ net claims on the CG grew by 1.8 percent to ₱1,679.6 billion from ₱1,650 billion in Q4 2020 due mainly to the rise in the OFCs’ holdings of government securities.

In contrast, the OFCs’ claims on depository corporations declined by 9.7 percent from ₱1,726.4 billion in Q4 2020 to ₱1,558.1 billion in Q4 2021. This is attributed to the sector’s lower deposits in banks and decreased holdings of bank-issued debt securities.

Meanwhile, the net foreign assets of OFCs rose significantly by 78.6 percent from ₱147.3 billion in Q4 2020 to ₱263.2 billion in Q4 2021. This development was driven by the higher claims on nonresidents, which were largely in the form of investments in debt and equity securities.

The expansion in the sector’s assets was funded primarily by the OFCs’ issuances of shares and other equity. This increase in equity issuances, coupled with the rise in OFCs’ insurance technical reserves (ITR), resulted in a 6.6 percent growth in the sector’s other liabilities, amounting to ₱7,542.5 billion in Q4 2021 from the ₱7,077.2 billion in Q4 2020.^[3]

^[1]   The OFCS is a comprehensive measure of the claims and liabilities of the OFCs. OFCs refer to institutional units providing financial services other than banks, non-banks with quasi-banking functions, nonstock savings and loan associations, and the central bank. These institutional units are comprised of non-money market funds of trust institutions, trust corporations, and investment companies, private and public insurance corporations, holding companies, government-owned or -controlled corporations engaged in financial intermediation, and other financial intermediaries and auxiliaries.

^[2] The private sector is composed of other nonfinancial corporations, and households and non-profit institutions serving households. The other nonfinancial corporations refer to private corporations and quasi-corporations whose principal activity is the production of market goods or nonfinancial services.

^[3] The ITR are amounts set aside by insurance companies to meet future insurance liabilities, such as but not limited to unearned premiums, outstanding claims, expected losses, bonuses and rebates (for life insurance).