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The Philippines is one of the world's largest recipients of
remittances, with nearly 10 millions of Filipinos working
overseas, most in the construction, nursing, marine,
entertainment and domestic helper sectors, sending home money
that helps power domestic consumption, a key driver of strong
economic growth.
In an executive order dated Sept. 28 that was made public on
Monday, Duterte ordered the Land Bank of the Philippines to
acquire Philippine Postal Savings Bank Inc and turn it into an
Overseas Filipino Bank. State-owned Philippine Postal is a
thrift bank with assets of 9.29 billion pesos ($181.4 million).
"There is a need to establish a policy bank dedicated to provide
financial products and services tailored to the requirements of
overseas Filipinos, and focused on delivering quality and
efficient foreign remittance services," the executive order
read.
Filipinos who live and work abroad typically rely on private
money transfer agencies, despite high transaction charges.
The creation of a specialized bank is among the campaign
promises of Duterte, who won the presidency by a large margin
last year. Duterte is mobbed by large crowd of Filipinos abroad
during his official trips in Asia and Middle East, where there
are large concentrations of contract workers.
Cash remittances in the first seven months of the year rose 5
percent from a year earlier to $16.095 billion, central bank
data showed. The bulk of remittances came from the United
States, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Japan and
the Britain.
(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales)
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