Philippine Banks Ranking: The Largest Banks on BSP Data, Types of Banks and the Digital Bank List

The largest banks in the Philippines: BSP's top 10 by total assets (March 2026 data)

On the central bank's own ranking, the largest bank in the Philippines is BDO Unibank. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) publishes a Ranking as to Total Assets for each group of banks, and the Universal and Commercial Bank Group is by far the largest. When we checked in September 2026, the BSP total assets ranking page showed data as of 31 March 2026, posted on 30 June 2026, and listed 44 banks in that group. Here are the top ten. We give ranks only; asset figures are on the BSP page itself.

Three points before you quote this table.

The data lags. BSP updates the ranking quarterly, and this edition covers the end of March but went online at the end of June, roughly three months later. By the time you read this, a newer quarter may be up, so go by whatever the BSP page currently shows.

It ranks one group only. Thrift banks, rural and cooperative banks and digital banks are ranked or reported separately in BSP statistics. They are not mixed into this table, and the sections below cover them.

It measures size, nothing else. A bank's rank says nothing about customer service, how easy it is to open an account, or how safe your deposit is.

You will see phrases such as "the big four banks" or "the top 10 banks in the Philippines" all over the internet, but there is no official "big four." If you want to be precise, cite BSP and the reporting date, for example: "On BSP data as of 31 March 2026, the three largest banks by total assets were BDO, BPI and Landbank." A league table that gives no date and no source is not worth much. For how BDO, BPI and Metrobank compare for everyday use, which is the comparison most foreigners actually need, see the best bank for foreigners in the Philippines.

Ranks 11 to 20, and how the order changes when you rank by deposits or loans

Measure a different way and the same ten banks lead, but in a different order. In the same section of its website, BSP also ranks the Universal and Commercial Bank Group by total deposit liabilities and by total loans and receivables (net). When we checked, both pages also showed data as of 31 March 2026, posted on 30 June 2026.

• By deposits: BDO is still first, Landbank moves up to second and BPI is third, followed by Metrobank, China Bank, RCBC, PNB, Security Bank, DBP and UnionBank.
• By loans: BDO, BPI and Metrobank take the top three, Landbank is fourth, followed by China Bank, PNB, RCBC, Security Bank, DBP and UnionBank.

State-owned Landbank ranks higher on deposits than on assets. On its own website, Landbank describes itself as a government financial institution that operates as a universal bank with a social mission, and it has a dedicated section for government clients. That is why Landbank comes up so often when you deal with government-related payments in the Philippines.

By total assets, ranks 11 to 20 are East West Banking Corporation, Asia United Bank, Citibank N.A., Bank of Commerce, the Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corp (HSBC), Philippine Bank of Communications, Philippine Trust Company, MUFG Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Philippine Veterans Bank. Further down the list you will find Mizuho Bank's Manila branch, Maybank Philippines, JP Morgan Chase, CTBC Bank (Philippines) and the Manila branch of Bank of China (Hong Kong), among others.

Two things stand out. First, foreign banks are ranked alongside local ones; the names alone show that some operate as Manila branches of overseas banks and others as Philippine-registered banks. Second, a lower rank does not mean a less trustworthy bank. All 44 banks appear on BSP's universal and commercial bank list, and the real differences are size, branch coverage and business focus. For a personal customer, whether a bank has a branch near your home usually matters more than where it ranks.

Whether a bank will open a personal account for a foreigner, and what it will ask for, has little to do with its rank. It depends on your visa, your ACR I-Card and your proof of address; the full checklist is in opening a personal bank account in the Philippines as a foreigner.

Types of banks in the Philippines: universal, commercial, thrift, rural and cooperative, and digital

Philippine law sorts banks into several classes, and BSP statistics usually report them in five groups. Section 3 of the General Banking Law of 2000 (Republic Act No. 8791) classifies banks as universal banks, commercial banks, thrift banks, rural banks, cooperative banks, Islamic banks, and other classifications set by the BSP Monetary Board. Digital banks are a class BSP added under that power in 2020.

• Universal banks. Under Section 23 of the same law, a universal bank may exercise the powers of a commercial bank plus the powers of an investment house, and may invest in non-allied enterprises as the law provides.
• Commercial banks. Section 29 lists powers such as issuing letters of credit, accepting demand and other deposits, buying and selling foreign exchange and extending credit. BSP rankings and statistics combine universal and commercial banks into one group (U/KBs), which is why both types appear in the top-ten table above.
• Thrift banks. By law these are savings and mortgage banks, stock savings and loan associations, and private development banks. In the BSP thrift bank ranking by total assets, also as of 31 March 2026, the top five were Philippine Savings Bank, China Bank Savings, City Savings Bank, Philippine Business Bank and BDO Network Bank.
• Rural and cooperative banks. The most numerous and generally the smallest banks, reported together by BSP.
• Digital banks. Banks with no physical branches, covered in the next section.

As for how many banks there are, the BSP table Number of Financial Institutions (Table 23) gives preliminary figures for August 2026, counting head offices: 44 universal and commercial banks, 42 thrift banks, 366 rural and cooperative banks and 7 digital banks, for a total of 459. The figures are marked preliminary and may be revised.

Several thrift banks carry names similar to those of large banks. Whether they belong to the same group, and what they offer, is something to confirm on each bank's own website rather than assume from the name.

In practical terms, most foreign residents look first at universal and commercial banks for a salary account, a savings account or a credit card. Digital banks let you open and run an account entirely on your phone, but you still go through identity verification. Whether you can open an account, and with which documents, depends on the bank and on your visa; the most common reasons for refusal are covered in bank account rejected in the Philippines.

Digital banks: what they are and which ones appear on BSP's lists

A digital bank is a separate class of bank created by BSP in 2020: everything runs through digital channels and there are no physical branches. Under BSP Circular No. 1105, Series of 2020, a digital bank offers financial products and services processed end to end through a digital platform or electronic channels, with no physical branch, sub-branch or branch-lite unit. It must still keep a principal or head office in the Philippines as the main point of contact for BSP, other regulators and stakeholders, and that office may also serve as the hub for receiving and resolving customer complaints. The circular also makes clear that digital banks are held to BSP's rules on governance, risk management, IT and cyber security, consumer protection and anti-money laundering, like other banks.

BSP's statistics count 7 digital banks in August 2026 (preliminary). The InstaPay participants list published on the BSP website, as of 31 August 2026, names six under Digital Banks: GoTyme Bank, MariBank Philippines, Maya Bank, Tonik Digital Bank, UnionDigital Bank and UNObank. BSP's Published Balance Sheet section also carries Overseas Filipino Bank, labelled "A Digital Bank of Landbank." A note to the BSP statistics table records that the first digital bank, Tonik, converted from a rural bank licence and began operating as a digital bank on 14 February 2022. Lists change, so go by what BSP currently publishes.

Three common mix-ups:

• Maya Bank and the Maya wallet are different companies. On BSP's PESONet participants list, Maya Bank, Inc. appears under digital banks, while Maya Philippines, Inc. appears under electronic money issuers (EMIs). Inside the app, be clear whether your money sits in the wallet or in the bank account.
• GCash is not a bank. The same list places G-Xchange, Inc. (GCash) among electronic money issuers. For what an e-wallet can and cannot do compared with a bank account, see what GCash is.
• Digital does not mean no checks. Opening an account still involves identity verification, and whether a foreigner can open one, and which documents to upload, depends on each bank's current in-app requirements.

The upside of a digital bank is that you never queue at a branch. The downside is that when something needs explaining in person, such as a frozen account or a request for more documents, you are limited to online support. A sensible setup for many foreign residents is to use a digital bank as a second account and keep the main account with a bank that has branches. For setting up online and mobile banking with a traditional bank, see how to enroll in online banking in the Philippines.

Reading the ranking sensibly: the biggest bank is not automatically the right one for you

A ranking tells you how big a bank is, not how easy it is to open an account or how good the service is. Larger banks tend to have more branches and a wider product range, but for foreigners living in the Philippines other factors decide the day-to-day experience. Use the ranking to narrow the field, then compare on these points:

1. Distance. Whether there is a branch and an ATM near your home and office decides how far you travel every time you need to hand in a document or deposit cash.
2. Fit with your status. Your visa type, ACR I-Card and proof of address matter far more than a bank's rank in deciding whether you can open an account on the day.
3. Maintaining balances and fees. Requirements differ widely between products. Ask at account opening and rely on each bank's current published terms.
4. Self-service. Whether you can change limits or download statements in the app affects how many branch visits you make in a year.
5. Which bank the other side requires. Employers often have a designated payroll bank. If you are applying for an SRRV, note that the Philippine Retirement Authority names DBP as its accredited government bank for SRRV deposits; the private bank list is covered in SRRV forms, PRA offices and accredited banks.

For a point-by-point comparison of BDO, BPI, Metrobank and the other large banks, see the best bank for foreigners in the Philippines; we do not repeat it here.

Deposit safety depends on deposit insurance, not on rank. The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) describes itself as a government instrumentality created in 1963 by Republic Act No. 3591 to protect depositors and help keep the financial system stable. Whether a given bank is covered, and the maximum coverage per depositor, should be checked on the PDIC website. People with larger balances often split them across two banks to limit exposure to any single bank.

Large banks freeze accounts too. If the source of funds is unclear or activity looks unusual, a top-ranked bank will restrict an account just as readily as a small one; that is about compliance review, not size. For what to do if it happens, see how to unfreeze a Philippine bank account.

One last point: a "best banks" list that mixes in interest rates, promotions or sign-up rewards is marketing, not a BSP ranking. Rates and promotions change constantly; we do not compare them here, and you should check each bank's own website.

How to check the latest ranking yourself and confirm a bank is BSP-supervised

Check both rankings and a bank's status on the BSP website, bsp.gov.ph, rather than relying on second-hand league tables. We opened and checked each of these pages in September 2026:

1. Asset rankings: Ranking as to Total Assets (Universal and Commercial Bank Group) and the Thrift Bank Group. The "As of" line at the top is the reporting date and "Posted" is the upload date; note both when you quote a rank.
2. Deposit and loan rankings: by total deposit liabilities and by total loans and receivables.
3. Individual bank balance sheets: BSP's Published Balance Sheet section, grouped into universal and commercial, thrift, rural and cooperative, and digital banks.
4. Number of banks: the BSP table Number of Financial Institutions (Table 23).
5. Whether an institution is a BSP-supervised bank: the BSP Directory of Banks and Non-Bank Financial Institutions, which can be filtered by type of institution.
6. Deposit insurance: the PDIC website.

When you quote a rank, say "BSP data as of" a specific date so others can check it. If you come across a ranking with no date, compare it with the BSP page before relying on it.

The same caution applies to bank websites and apps: reach them through official channels. Pages that look official in search results are not always genuine, and the problem is just as common with government sites; for a worked example using the NBI, see the official NBI clearance website and how to spot look-alikes. If a text or email claiming to be from your bank asks you to click a link and log in, do not click it. Open the bank app already on your phone or type the bank's address yourself. If your card has already been misused, see what to do about unauthorized card charges.

Yixing is a private consultancy registered in the Philippines (SEC registration CS202009551). We are not affiliated with BSP or any bank, we do not sell bank products, and we do not give financial or investment advice. If you have just arrived and need to get your ACR I-Card, TIN, proof of address and bank account done in the right order, contact our settling-in service; we can help you prepare documents and go with you to the branch. Whether and when a bank opens your account is the bank's decision, and we do not promise outcomes. All ranks in this article come from BSP's public pages, which are updated quarterly; rely on what BSP currently publishes.