IOM is today hosting a roundtable with bank representatives to
discuss ways to harness the development potential of remittances.
The event is part of the European Commission-funded AENEAS
programme.

The roundtable, which is taking place in Manila, will discuss
the findings of an on-going survey conducted by IOM and the
Economic Resource Center for Overseas Filipinos (ERCOF) on the
Italy-Philippines remittance corridor.

The study found that banks, especially Filipino banks, are the
major players in providing remittance services to Filipinos working
in Italy. Some 95 per cent of 352 survey respondents regularly use
bank remittance services. A further 50 respondents sent money to
multiple beneficiaries.

Of the total 402 responses, two migrants in ten used money
transfer non-bank agencies such as Western Union, and only one in
ten hand-carried money home through family, friends, co-workers or
relatives.

Banks are also seen as an important source of information among
migrants in making decisions on remittance services – 41 per
cent of all respondents said that they used them when making
financial choices. This highlights the important role that the
banking industry can play in improving financial literacy among
migrants groups.

Filipino migrants in Italy earn on average EUR 1,044 from their
main job and every month send home an average of EUR 354. But the
study showed that 29 per cent were unable to save, even after
working in Italy for several years.

The vast majority of respondents, despite their relatively high
level of educational attainment – some 53 per cent were
college graduates – indicated that their remittances would go
into bank savings, housing and education. 

The study suggests that these migrants, many of whom are working
in the household and care sectors, could be empowered with improved
financial literacy to invest their remittances more productively
– increasing their financial impact on their families and
communities.

The Philippines ranks fourth in the volume of remittance
receipts after India, China and Mexico, and ranks one of the
highest in the contribution of remittances to gross domestic
product, estimated at 10-13 per cent. The Philippines recorded USD
17.4 billion in remittances in 2009, registering an increase from
the previous year, despite the onset of the global financial crisis
late in 2008. 

For more information, please contact:

Aiko Kikkawa

IOM Manila

Tel: +632 848 1260 (ext. 152.)

E-mail: "mailto:akikkawa@iom.int">akikkawa@iom.int