THE Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. said that remittances by Filipinos working abroad will grow higher this year amid prospects of still positive growth of major host countries outside of the eurozone.

In its weekly commentary, Metrobank said that remittances for 2012 will grow by 6 percent. This was higher than the 5-percent projection by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

“The outlook supports our view that the economic growth will be higher at 4.6 percent this year, underpinned by still robust consumption spending and vibrant services sector,” Pauline Revillas, Metrobank research analyst, said.

The Philippines is one of the largest recipient economies for remittances globally in terms of dollar value, after India, China, and Mexico.

As a share of gross domestic product (GDP), it is on World Bank data, the largest out of the mainstream developing economies, Metrobank said.

According to Revillas, a major concern is the possible slowdown in remittances as economic conditions are deemed deteriorating especially in Europe, the second largest host region, which accounts for about 17 percent of the total remittance pie.

However, the decline in cash transfer from there is seen to be offset by the expected growth in remittances from the Middle East and Asian countries, which account for 16 percent and 13 percent, respectively, of total remittances, Revillas said.

Inflows from the United States, the major source of remittances at 53 percent, are also seen to remain resilient given the nature of employment of overseas Filipinos there, and the sustained rebound of the US economy this year.

“Around 10 percent of the Philippines’ total population work outside the country—mostly as seafarers, construction and IT workers, nurses, teachers, caregivers and domestic helpers. For several years now, remittances have spurred domestic consumption spending and increased foreign exchange reserves, current account and deposits in the banking system,” Revillas noted.

Remittances from overseas Filipino workers to be resilient in 2011 despite a gloomy global macroeconomic landscape. Remittances for the full year of 2011 grew 7.2 percent year-on-year to $20.12 billion, higher than the government forecast, on the back of continued strong global demand for Filipino workers.

The Americas account for more than half of the total remittances sent, with the US and Canada as the major sources in the region.

The European bloc is the second major source of remittances, with most of the money coming from the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and Norway.

For the Middle East region, United Arab Emirates has the lion share in total remittances sent from the region, while for Asia, Japan and Singapore combined make up 66 percent of total remittances sent.