BPI hinges growth on improving economy
MANILA, Philippines —The Ayala Group’s Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is making a “big push” to significantly grow its customer base this year after the P30-billion takeover of Robinsons Bank and intensified efforts to lure new business through affiliates.
BPI, the country’s third-biggest lender, is preparing to capitalize on improving economic prospects as interest rates are expected to come down, bolstering consumer spending.
“We have about 11 million customers and about over 6 million customers who have registered in the BPI mobile app, with about 4.5 million that use that actively,” BPI president and CEO Jose Teodoro “TG” Limcaoco said in a statement.
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“We plan to increase from 11 million to something quite significant, significantly higher than that by the end of this year,” he added.
BPI’s customer base is expected to increase following its acquisition of the smaller Robinsons Bank, previously owned by the Gokongwei Group, at the start of 2024.
It is also ramping up efforts to boost its presence through third-party agency banking affiliates, effectively extending its physical branch network.
“This strategy means we are not relying solely on our own branches and digital platforms,” Limcaoco said.
READ: BPI posted record profit in 2023
Limcaoco, who earlier said BPI was poised to book record profits for a second year in a row in 2024, remains bullish on the Philippine economy.
“[Our] forecast, internally, is that you’ll see a little bump in the second quarter, but that will again come down in the third quarter, which should give room for the BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas] to cut rates,” the BPI chief added. INQ
