The Philippines has always been one of those economies and markets that has perhaps promised more than it has delivered. But there is considerable optimism that the private sector, the regulators and the government are more aligned than ever in wanting to promote the financial sectors as the country s population grows so rapidly, as the mass affluent are rising fast and as they attempt to bring more of the massive offshore wealth of the rich and super-wealthy back onshore. The result is a gradually more diversified range of products and solutions onshore and a broader range of private banks and independent wealth firms, some of the alliances between international names and powerful local financial institutions with the reach across the country s vast lands and many thousands of islands.