News Update PHL data show rich people better at saving money than govt

Filipino households — mostly the affluent — have been better at tucking away money in their banks than the government, based on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas 2008-2010 data on the flow of funds in the country’s economy. The BSP said on Wednesday that Pinoy households had total accumulated savings in 2010 of P841.5 billion, which was “a modest improvement of 6.4 percent” from the 2009 level. In contrast, government and local government units had combined savings of only P70.3 billion last year. Another set of data, from the National Statistics Office (NSO) 2009 Family Income and Expenditures Survey (FIES), tends to show that most of the savings the BSP data indicate may be those of the richest Filipinos. The 2009 FIES (the latest data available) had the richest 10 percent with 62 percent or P356 billion of the gross savings of P574 billion while the upper 7th, 8th and 9th percentile groups — the upper middle class — had P183 billion in savings. Mired in P9 billion deficit and debts were the poorest 30 percent of Pinoy households, the 2009 FIES also showed. Businesses also saved more According to the 2010 BSP data, the business sector also outdid the government at setting aside savings. The non-financial firms’ savings jumped 14.6 percent to P692.9 billion “underpinned by strong net income that was observed in all industries, notably in food and beverage, real estate, transport, and wholesale trade.” The non-financial corporates were much better than the financial firms were at saving. Banks and other financials set aside P106.1 billion, which was 6.8 percent more than their 2009 savings. All sectors of the economy generated P1.71 trillion in savings, an improvement of P140 billion or 8.9 percent from P1.57 trillion , according to BSP data. — With Earl Victor Rosero/VS/KG