OFW remittances grow 6% in April, BSP reports

(Updated 5:45 p.m.) Four straight months of decline in the growth of remittances from overseas Filipino worker (OFWs) ended last April when the level of monies sent home grew 6 percent, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Wednesday. Last April’s remittances reached $1.616 billion, up $95.7 million from the same month in 2010. BSP figures also showed that the total from January to April hit $6.21 billion or $350 million more than what was remitted in the same period last year. “The sustained growth in cash transfers from overseas Filipinos was due to increased remittances from both sea-based and land-based workers," the BSP said. Remittances from mariners and other sea-based workers rose by 12.2 percent while monies from land-based workers increased by 4.4 percent. Demand for Filipino personnel remained strong, according to the BSP. “For the period 1 January - 31 May 2011, the approved job orders reached 269,386, of which 32.0 percent (86,300) were already processed while 68.0 percent (183,086) are still to be filled up," the BSP said, citing data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. The BSP also credited banks and other financial institutions for “actively introducing innovative remittance products… and providing reliable services to enable OFWs to transfer money swiftly and securely to relatives back home." Among the innovations the BSP noted was the addition of a remittance feature to credit cards already in the market. “These initiatives are expected to encourage the use of the formal channels to capture a bigger share of the global remittance market," the BSP added. “These initiatives are expected to encourage the use of the formal channels to capture a bigger share of the global remittance market," the BSP added. BSP data show that there are seasonal cycles in remittance flows, with January and February as slow months and the 2nd and 4th quarters as high months. Earnings sent home peaked at $1.694 billion last December, fell to $1.477 billion the following month before gradually rising to $1.5 billion last February and $1.616 billion in March. Total remittances last year hit a record $18.763 billion while 2009 remittances totaled $17.348 billion. The National Economic and Development Authority said these high levels of remittances have been fueling consumer spending, which in the first quarter of 2011 rose by 9.7 percent. For all of 2010, consumer spending increased by 9.1 percent. North America, particularly the United States, has been the origin of remittances, but in 2009, the aggregate of remittances from Asia, Europe and the Middle East (AEM) surpassed the amount of dollars from the US. Earnings from the AEM amounted to $7.8 billion, overtaking the inflow from the US by about $483 million. — ELR/VS, GMA News