AMA Bank raises capital to P1 billion, expands services

MANILA, Philippines - AMA Bank, the largest used-car loan bank in the Philippines, recently obtained a certificate of approval to increase its authorized capital stock from P500 million to P1 billion from the Securities and Exchange Commission and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

A consistent awardee in auto and bus loan financing and other consumer loan products, AMA Bank, as of February 2010 had total resources amounting to P2.7 billion from P200 million in the year 2000 with a 3.1-percent non-performing loans (NPL) ratio, way below the industry six percent to eight percent.

AMA Bank’s gross revenue increased from P59.9 million in the first two months of 2009 to P67.096 million for the first two months this year. Net income increased 537 percent from P2.679 million in 2009 to P17.067 million for the first two months of 2010 as a result of reduced interest expense and loan revenue growth.

The total net income is projected to grow to P103 million for 2010, from P36 million in 2009, according to Alejandro C. Soliman, EVP & COO.

With the affirmative showing in revenue, its capital to risk assets ratio (CAR) is now at its highest level at 15.1 percent over and above the minimum requirement of 10 percent imposed by the BSP. To date, paid-in capital of AMA Bank is P832 million.

AMA bank said the increase in capital underlines its commitment to provide better deposit and loan facilities to meet the rising demands of its customers, make a difference in their lives and enable them to make meaningful progress.

AMA Bank is a member of AMA Group of Companies founded and chaired by Amb. Amable R. Aguiluz V.

It has a network of 10 branches located in NCR, Southern Tagalog, Central Luzon and Northern Luzon regions. AMA Bank says it offers competitive interest rate for short term regular time deposit, special time deposit for eight years, and for five years-one day at eight-percent net interest per annum, tax-exempt.

To fully complement its deposit product and enhance its relevance, AMA Bank is in the process of providing ATM services to its clients and provides wider latitude of loan service, in addition to its niche products of auto and bus loans, such as small and medium enterprise (SME) loans covered by real estate as collateral, micro-finance, Dep-Ed-assisted teacher’s loan and corporate salary loan to employees via salary deduction scheme.