Bank of the Philippine Islands, the third-largest lender, is allocating P450 million to put up new branches this year to widen its coverage nationwide.
BPI chief financial officer Joseph Albert Gotuaco said at the sidelines of the annual stockholders’ meeting the bank planned to open 25 to 30 branches in 2016.
“Most of these will be in Metro Manila and the VisMin [Visayas and Mindanao] areas,” he said, adding the establishment of new branches would cost around P5 million to P15 million, each “depending on the location.”
BPI president and chief executive Cezar Consing said earlier the bank would prioritize expanding its coverage to seize the opportunities amid the growing economy.
“We want to allocate our resources primarily in the Philippines,” Consing said.
He said the bank was not downplaying the idea of going overseas especially under the Asean banking integration framework.
Consing said the bank was managing its metrics efficiently so that when the right opportunities came, it would automatically qualify as an Asean bank to expand in the region.
BPI posted a 1.1-percent increase in net income to P18.23 billion in 2015 from P18.04 billion in 2014.
Total loans rose 9.1 percent to P872.86 billion, while total deposits increased 8.5 percent to P1.28 trillion.
The bank is eyeing a double-digit growth in loans and deposits this year on the back of the robust economic growth.
BPI, the first bank in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, is a commercial bank with an expanded banking license.
BPI’s services include consumer banking and lending, asset management, insurance, securities brokerage and distribution, foreign exchange, leasing, and corporate and investment banking.