Metrobank bullish on growth despite market volatility

MANILA, Philippines — After posting record earnings in the first half of the year, Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) is optimistic about its growth prospects for the second half as it sees robust demand for consumer and commercial loans.

Metrobank chief marketing officer Digs Dimagiba said the Ty-led bank is on track to hitting its growth targets this year, following record results for their first half.

“We’re very optimistic for the rest of the year,” he told reporters at the launch of Metrobank’s Happy Holideals promo on Friday. “The economy is better, people are nicer to each other and businesses are thriving.”

The net income of Metrobank jumped by 12.9 percent to P23.6 billion in the first semester from P20.9 billion in the same period last year, marking its highest first half result ever.

The country’s second largest private lender in terms of assets attributed the strong performance to robust asset expansion, stable margins, well-managed cost growth and healthy asset quality.

“We are bullish for this year. As the economy and businesses continue to thrive, it’s going to be great, not just for Metrobank, but I think for the whole country,” Dimagiba said.

Peaches Cuenco, head of Metrobank’s consumer lending group, said she expects sustained growth for auto and home loans in the coming months due to robust consumer demand.

“We see an overall positive growth trajectory for our auto and home loan businesses as we expect more bookings towards the end of the year given expectations of lower rates in the second half as well as through our offers like the Happy Holideals loan promo,” she said.

Metrobank’s consumer portfolio grew by 13.7 percent in the first semester. In terms of borrower profile, Cuenco said the younger demographic have been dominating the bank’s auto and home loan customer profiles.

Cuenco also noted Metrobank’s efforts to provide good offers to its clients.

“Consumer is a priority growth area of the Bank and car and home loans play a very big part in that. Our plan is to cater to more customers, open new channels and constantly upgrade our levels of service,” she said.

This year, Metrobank is offering its clients competitive loan rates as well as waived fees when they apply for a car or home loan until Oct. 31. Metrobank Happy Holideals is open to all qualified car and home loan clients who will submit their complete loan application documents from Aug. 1 to Oct. 31.

Qualified car and home loan applications must also be approved and subsequently booked on or before Dec. 27 to enjoy the bank’s offers.

Aside from consumer loans, Cuenco is also optimistic about the bank’s strong growth in its commercial banking business.

However, Dimagiba noted that there would always be volatility in the market.

“We live in an era of volatility,” he said. “But we believe that we’re prepared for whatever comes in. We take our commitment seriously to keep our stakeholders, our depositors and all of our customers in good hands.”