The Philippines has enhanced its financial inclusion landscape with the addition of a second Islamic banking unit (IBU), operated by Maybank Philippines, Inc., as announced by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Wednesday. Maybank commenced its Islamic banking operations on August 14, following the IBU licence approval by BSP on July 4, 2024. This marks Maybank as the first commercial bank in the country to host an IBU, following CARD Bank, Inc., which obtained the first-ever IBU licence in June 2023. BSP aims to foster growth in Islamic financing by supporting new entrants and implementing regulatory reforms to attract more domestic and foreign banks to establish IBUs in the Philippines.