Bank of the Philippine Islands, the fourth-largest lender in terms of assets, will put up 20 to 30 more branches next year in a bid to widen its coverage nationwide and seize growth opportunities amid the growing economy.
“We are looking at adding 20 to 30 branches next year,” Joseph Gotuaco, the bank’s executive vice president and head of retail client segment group, told reporters late Tuesday afternoon. BPI opened its 680-square meter flagship branch at the corner of Paseo de Roxas and Ayala Avenue at the iconic Insular Life Building in Makati City.
“… The central bank [earlier] has given us the permission to put up around 50 to 60 branches, and we will use up those licenses very soon between this year and next year,” Gotuaco said.
Gotuaco said BPI in 2017 opened around 20 branches in the different parts of the country. He said the bank would end the year with a total of 841 branches.
He said BPI would also prioritize refurbishing a lot of branches and spend more on renovations.
BPI president and chief executive Cezar Consing said the new and redesigned branches were part of the bank’s efforts to better serve its growing client base.
“We are continually enhancing our customers’ banking experience and developing innovative products and services that cater to their needs. It is not only about expanding our branch footprint but also about offering what our customers need, and being present where our customers need us to be,” Consing said in a statement.
The new Makati branch has expansive and quiet spaces amid the congestion of the business district, and features specialized and in-demand services and amenities such as lounges for preferred customers and safety deposit boxes. The lobby also showcases BPI’s latest electronic channels, such as ATMs and online banking.
Gotuaco said the branch design would soon be “cascaded” in several branches nationwide. The bank’s branches currently serve around 8.2 million clients.
Gotuaco said the bank had also been strengthening its cybersecurity. He said of the thousands of transactions per second in its branches, some of those are subjected to some form of security scan.
He said BPI was on track of meeting the deadline set by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on switching to the more secure Europay Mastercard Visa cards from the magnetic stripe cards which are prone to fraud.
BPI’s net income declined 1.9 percent to P17.05 billion in the first nine months of 2017 from P17.38 billion a year ago on the absence of one-time gains in 2016.
Third-quarter net income rose 14 percent to P5.36 billion from P4.71 billion on year as total revenues increased as a result of higher interest income.
Total revenues in the first nine months of the year rose 5.2 percent to P53.04 billion. Net interest income climbed 13.5 percent to P35.50 billion, supported by a wider average net interest margin and a higher loan-to-deposit ratio.
Non-interest income declined 8.4 percent to P17.54 billion, mainly due to the absence of significant one-off trading gains similar to those realized in June 2016.