"Moody's baseline scenario assumes that the Philippines will achieve a higher real GDP growth versus similarly rated sovereigns. In particular, the country should record GDP growth of 6.5 percent in 2017 and 6.8 percent in 2018, on strong domestic consumption and an increased pace of investments," it said. The credit watcher said banks' asset performance is also seen to remain stable amid strong economic performance and sound credit metrics adopted by their corporate customers, which take up 80 percent of their loan portfolios. The credit rating agency also cited the Philippine banks' strong funding profiles dominated by deposits. Moody's said banks registered loan-to-deposit ratios of 67 percent at mid-2017 and sizable stocks of liquid assets. Banks are also seen to show stable profitability with the improvement of their net interest margins, due to the rebalancing of their loan exposures. However, Moddy's said high cost base will remain a drag on the profitability of banks.