Filipinos’ financial quotient at record high, online poll shows

3:59 pm | Monday, February 4th, 2013

MANILA, Philippines–Filipinos’ financial quotient (Fin-Q) is greatly improving, as more and more citizens now understand the value of budgeting, planning for their retirement and building up personal savings, a new Citibank research suggested.

Citi – which has been running an online poll since 2007 to measure the Fin-Q of Filipino consumers – reported on Monday that for the second straight year, Filipinos’ Fin-Q passed the 50-point mark and scored a record high of 53 out of a possible 100 points.

This score is on track of the 53.2 Fin-Q average across Asia Pacific as indicated by the Citibank research.

The improved score was driven by increased awareness among respondents of the importance of planning personal finances, ownership of several financial products such as investments and insurance, and a general optimism on their financial future, the bank said.

All respondents were over 18 years of age with either a bank account or a major credit card.

In this latest survey, respondents were scored on 11 different questions closely related to financial well-being for a maximum possible score of 100. The questionnaire consisted of over 80 questions and covered a range of topics related to making smart financial decisions and having good financial habits.

Proving that Filipinos are now more conscious about planning their finances, about nine out of 10 said they create a budget on a monthly basis, and 65 percent acknowledged the importance of sticking to their budget.

In preparing for their future, Citi said Filipinos seemed to be right on track as well. “In fact, it was a record year in terms of their confidence in their insurance coverage, with nearly eight out of 10 saying they own insurance products or enjoy income protection,” the research said.

As they prepare for retirement, a total of 63 percent said they were on track with their retirement savings or had already started to set aside some savings for it.

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