BPI seen off to a good start

PHOTO courtesy of BPI

MANILA, Philippines—Bank of the Philippine Islands is off to a good start this 2014 with corporate lending rising in the first quarter by a faster pace than the 22-percent growth targeted that the bank has set for the whole year.

Corporate lending accounts for a lion’s share of the bank’s total loan book.

The consumer lending segment of thrift bank unit BPI Family Bank likewise grew by a double-digit rate.

According to the thrift bank, auto lending alone grew by 40 percent year on year in the first quarter.

“Where we have seen very good traction is in the growth of our loans. We made it very clear to investors, when we raised the [P25 billion additional tier 1] capital, that this would go to financial intermediation. And we’ve seen that this has come true in the first quarter,” BPI president Cezar Consing said during a briefing after the bank’s annual stockholders’ meeting last week.

“Loan growth in the corporate side has been quite buoyant. It’s north of annual growth objective target of 22 percent,” said BPI executive vice president Alfonso Salcedo Jr.

Growth is being fueled by demand from top corporations, Salcedo said, noting that lending to Metro Manila’s middle market likewise grew by a robust 30 percent.

About 75 percent of BPI’s consolidated lending goes to the corporate/business sector, while the remaining 25 percent represents direct lending to consumers or households.—Doris C. Dumlao