SBC targets 10% loan book growth

Security Bank Corp. expects its loan portfolio this year to expand by double-digits, albeit at a slower pace than last year, and that interest rate margins will remain under pressure from record low rates, a top official said on Tuesday.

Security Bank president and CEO  Alberto Villarosa told reporters after the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting that the lender, like the rest of the industry, will need to ramp up its other business segments like wealth and asset management to sustain profitability.

The company is still targeting loans to grow by 10 percent to 15 percent this year, Villarosa said. This, however, is slower than the 30 percent loan growth recorded in 2012.

He added that industrial loans will also increase 10 percent to 15 percent this year, driven by big-ticket infrastructure and power projects.