BPI sees double-digit growth in remittance business last year

MANILA, Philippines - The Ayala-owned Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) said it expects double-digit growth in its remittance business in 2009 from the $4.4-billion volume it recorded in 2008, a top bank official said.

“We are confident that remittances will grow double digits,” said Teresita B. Tan, BPI executive vice president and group head of overseas banking and channel services group.

Total remittances coursed through the country’s banking system amounted to $16.4 billion in 2008, and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) anticipates growth of between three to four percent last year.

Tan said while the US remains the largest market in terms of volume of remittances from overseas Filipinos, the Middle East region was the outperforming market last year.

BPI is the undisputed leader in handling remittances from sea-based Filipinos, with an estimated market share of 60 percent.

It noted that while the global crisis forced the drydocking of a large number of fleets and an unpecedented number of seafarers were landlocked, majority of the Filipino seafarers were not retrenched. Rather, ship operators and manning agencies held on to them as Filipino seafarers are among the favored nationality by ship operators and manning agencies for their high quality, reliability, and command of the English language.

It is widely believed that 262,000 Filipino seafarers are onboard ocean-going vessels at any given day.

BPI president Aurelio R. Montinola III said while the BSP is confident remittance from overseas Filipinos will surpass the 2008 figures by three to four percent, the Philippines and several other East Asian countries with huge migrant populations continue to register positive growth.

“The government expects remittances to expand by three to four percent in 2009. We expect our numbers to double that,” Montinola said in an earlier interview.

The BSP also predicted that remittances would grow by another four to seven percent this year.

The Philippines receives the fourth largest volume of remittances in the world, next to China, India, and Mexico. Approximately 90 percent of all money transfers to the Philippines are processed by the banking system, with BPI owning a 27-percent market share, the largest in the system.