Global Microsoft Outage Hits Philippine Banks — Landbank, Chinabank and EastWest Warn of Email Delays
MICROSOFT OUTAGE – Did you send an email to your bank today and get no reply? Several Philippine banks have told their customers that their email services were disrupted on Friday, November 13, 2026, because of the worldwide outage of Microsoft 365, which includes the Outlook email service and Teams.
According to a report by Bankero, the Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank), China Banking Corp. (Chinabank) and East West Banking Corp. (EastWest) all issued advisories about the problem and asked clients to use other channels for urgent concerns. The Supreme Court also said that its own systems were affected, as reported by The Manila Times.
What the Banks Told Their Customers
Here is a summary of the advisories, based on the Bankero report:
- Landbank – Its customer care email service was temporarily unavailable, and emails sent during the outage might not be received or acknowledged. The state-run bank pointed clients to its hotline and its official Facebook Messenger account. “We apologize for any inconvenience and will provide an update as soon as we receive further advice from Microsoft,” Landbank said.
- Chinabank – The bank warned that “some messages to and from Chinabank may not be received or responded to as promptly as usual.” It said its branches and digital banking platforms remained available.
- EastWest – The bank reported disruptions to its email services due to the Microsoft Outlook outage and asked customers to call its hotline or go directly to their branches.
Take note that the advisories covered email services. Chinabank specifically said its branches and digital banking channels were still working.
Supreme Court Also Affected
The Supreme Court informed the public that the outage affected the Philippine Judiciary 365 (PJ365), including Microsoft Outlook. In a post on X, the Court said that “responses to emails and other transactions may be delayed” during the downtime and that it was working closely with Microsoft to restore the affected services.
What Happened to Microsoft 365?
According to Philstar Tech, Microsoft acknowledged the problem at 1:54 a.m. Philippine time on Friday, saying it was looking into reports that users could not connect to their Outlook Exchange Online mailboxes. Services listed as possibly affected included Exchange Online, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint Online, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Planner, To Do and Intune, among others.
CNN reported that the outage left millions of users around the world without access to Outlook and Teams, with Downdetector saying reports reached 74 countries and territories in about an hour. Banks, governments and courts in several countries were affected.
Microsoft said the problem was not caused by a cyberattack. “There is no indication this is the result of malicious or cyber activity,” Microsoft executive Charles Lamanna said in a post on X, as quoted by CNN. The company also said it had not yet seen a “sustained recovery,” even as it adjusted and redistributed traffic and saw partial recovery in some regions.
Watch Out for Scams
Banks in other countries have warned that scammers may take advantage of the outage, CNN said. Some of the reminders they gave their clients:
- Do not give anyone access to your device if they call offering to fix the “Microsoft issue.”
- Never share your PIN, password or One-Time Password (OTP).
- Do not click links or open attachments from unknown senders.
- Contact your bank only through its official, publicly listed hotline or channels, and report suspicious messages or unauthorized transactions right away.
If you have an urgent concern with your bank while email is down, use the alternative channels the banks mentioned, such as their hotlines, official Facebook Messenger pages, mobile apps or branches.
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