Security Bank focusing more on consumer lending

MANILA, Philippines–Security Bank, hungry for its own slice of the country’s growing consumer lending pie, has laid down a plan that will make the company a heavyweight in the retail space by 2018.

At his first press conference as the bank’s new president and CEO, Alfonso “Yogi” Salcedo Jr. on Tuesday said the foundation was being laid down for the bank’s transformation as a more consumer-friendly lender.

“We know the financial markets and wholesale banking businesses are solid. The mandate given to me is to grow the third leg, which is consumer banking,” Salcedo told reporters at the sidelines of Security Bank’s annual shareholders’ meeting.

Salcedo’s appointment as the bank’s new CEO, announced earlier in April, became official on Monday. He replaced Alberto Villarosa, who became bank chair.

In the next three years, Salcedo will oversee the bank’s pivot toward the consumer business. Initial steps have already been taken in this direction. In 2014, Security Bank rebranded itself with a new logo, and appointed a celebrity endorser for the first time in its history.

Even so, Security Bank’s retail business’ contribution to overall earnings remains a drop in a bucket, made up mostly of revenues from treasury operations and corporate clients. Last year, the retail segment accounted for just 5 percent of the bank’s bottomline, Villarosa said.

“We intend to bring that to the next level,” Salcedo said. By 2018, he said the retail business—made up of car loans, credit cards, mortgages, and the like—would make up a third of annual profits.

Last year, Security Bank posted a net income of P7.2 billion, up 43 percent year-on-year. The bank outperformed the entire industry, which saw profits drop by nearly a tenth.

He said the bank’s focus for now would be building up its internal infrastructure.