BPI Family Savings Bank expects 10-15% earnings growth this year

MANILA, Philippines - BPI Family Savings Bank said it expects a modest 10 to 15 percent growth in net earnings this year, coming off a record 55-percent gain to P1.795 billion in 2009.

BPI Family is the thrift bank of the Ayala Group of Companies.

Bank president Alfonso L. Salcedo Jr. said the market remains cautious, preferring to wait for the outcome of the May national elections before proceeding with their expansion and borrowing plans.

“They have definite expansion and borrowing plans, they just want to be sure,” Salcedo said during the formal launching of a partnership between entrepreneurship advocate Go Negosyo and BPI Family.

He further explained that in the first quarter, the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) borrowers were “bullish yet cautious.”

Loan growth is likewise expected to expand by at least low double-digits from the yearend amount of P85 billion. BPI Family’s loan portfolio focuses mainly on mortgage (housing), motor vehicles and SMEs.

SME lending is expected to be the fastest-growing sector in the portfolio, although the property sector still accounts for almost half of the portfolio. The SME lending portfolio is worth roughly P17 billion while the auto lending reached an estimated P20 billion. The mortgage segment is worth over P45 billion.

BPI Family has an SME base of 5,000 accounts while Go Negosyo claims it has reached over a million entrepreneurs since the campaign started two years ago.

The bank has a non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of four percent and a capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of a little over 12 percent. As of September last year, its assets stood at P107.5 billion while deposits reached P94.6 billion. It remained the leading thrift bank in terms of assets at the end of the first three quarters of 2009.