BPI forecasts 10% hike in 2006 income

By Ted P. Torres
The Philippine Star 08/02/2006

The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) remains confident it would achieve a minimum 10-percent growth in earnings this year anchored on the continued economic growth, stronger deposit and loan growth, and successful disposal of bad assets.

The bank’s net income in 2005 reached P8.1 billion, up from P6.7 billion the year before.

"The second half of the year will be a challenging one," said Aurelio Montinola III, BPI president. He said the first quarter of 2006 was strong but it was the reverse in the second quarter. "In fact, July was even better than May and June."

He said the key to significant growth for BPI and the rest of the banking industry is the continued stability of the economy. The consumer and the treasury market plays a critical role to growth for banks as the corporate lending sector remains bearish, he added.

Transaction levels from BPI’s electronic banking products have grown by over 20 percent although the actual amounts involved in the levels are slightly smaller.

Likewise, the trust market has swiftly recovered from the earlier fiasco involving unit investment trust funds (UITFs). "Our UITFs has returned to the December 2005 levels while the entire trust market continued to grow steadily," Montinola said.

The trust departments of the banking sector reported assets under management (AUMs) reaching P892.9 billion as of end -2005 from the previous year’s P812 billion.

Full year loan portfolio for the consumer and SME (small and medium enterprise) of P12 billion is likewise achievable as it has already reached the P8-billion level at the start of the second semester.

Meanwhile, BPI will also be launching several electronic-friendly mini branches called BPI Express, to complement its 800-plus branch network.

BPI Express is a smaller branch composed of various electronic equipment related to e-banking and e-commerce allowing clients to access similar banking transactions. It will also have two tellers and two information officers. Each mini-branch costs of roughly P2 million and it will be open 24 hours daily

"We plan to open 100 in Metro Manila by end 2007 with 20 to be opened by the end of 2006," the BPI official said.

 

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200608020706.htm