OFW Families Urged to Save, Invest More

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The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is urging beneficiaries of remittances to channel the money sent home to the Philippines by their loved ones overseas for more productive uses such as savings and investments.

BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said during the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the central bank and the Commission on Filipinos Overseas the need for beneficiaries of overseas remittances to save and invest more.

“We would like to harness the potential use of remittances for savings and investments,” Tetangco stressed.

He pointed out that the World Bank has ranked the Philippines as the fourth largest in terms of remittances. Remmittances from overseas Filipinos grew 7.2 percent to a record level of $20.117 billion last year.

He added that the BSP is confident that remittances would grow five percent this year as the amount of money sent home by overseas Filipinos climbed 5.4 percent to $1.557 billion last January from $1.476 billion in the same month last year.

Higher remittances result to stronger external payments position, boosting the country’s buffer fund to fend off the impact of global shocks.

Results of the BSP’s Fourth Quarter 2011 Consumer Expectations Survey (CES) showed that the percentage of households of OFWs that set aside money for savings has increased to 42.6 percent in the fourth quarter of last year from 35.5 percent in the third quarter

However, the survey showed a drop in the number of OFW households that use remittances for investments to 6.4 percent in the fourth quarter of last year from 9.1 percent in the third quarter, but increased compared to 5.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010.

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