Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) governer Benjamin Diokno at work shortly after an interview with Cathy Yang for ANC’s The Boss, held at the BSP headquarters in Manila on March 12, 2019. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/file
MANILA -- The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, as expected, kept interest rates steady on Thursday, as economic growth recovered and with inflation steady.
The overnight borrowing rate, used by banks to price loans was kept at 4 percent. The Monetary Board last cut the benchmark by 25 basis points last Sept. 26, for a total of 75 basis points this year.
Governor Benjamin Diokno said on Nov. 4 that there would be no more interest rate cuts this year and that the BSP would "pause for a while" from its policy loosening cycle. He cut the reserve requirement ratio for banks by 100 basis points a week prior to that statement.
"After the string of policy rate cuts and flurry of reductions to the reserve requirement, we expect Governor Diokno to gauge the impact of his recent policy moves before he acts again," said ING senior economist Nicholas Antonio Mapa before Thursday's decision.
A Bloomberg poll of 19 economists unanimously predicted that the BSP would pause on Thursday.
ANC, ANC Top, interest rates, monetary policy, inflation, economy, gross domestic product, Benjamin Diokno