Thrift banks expect sustained growth this year amid the robust domestic economy and the government’s plan to bring development to the countryside, an official of the Chamber of Thrift Banks said Wednesday.
“The outlook for the thrift banking industry is very, very bright, given the country’s sustained strong macroeconomic fundamentals and the government’s plans to bring progress to the country. That will really help us widen our coverage nationwide,” CTB president Gregorio Anonas III said in a news briefing in Makati City.
Anonas said lending growth this year could surpass the 13-percent expansion in 2016. He said real estate lending would be one of the group’s strength, partly driven by sustained remittances from Filipinos working overseas.
“For deposit, we grew by 9 percent last year and we see it increasing to a double-digit growth,” Anonas said.
Anonas said thrift banks would remain competitive with the larger universal and commercial banks.
“Our relationship with our clients is more personal compared to the bigger banks. We are also able to customize our services to our clients’ needs,” he said.
Thrift banks saw a 9.4-percent increase in total deposits to P872.869 billion in 2016 from P797.607 billion in 2015. It also accounted for about 8.3 percent of the deposits of the entire banking system.