Veterans Bank posts strong performance

Despite challenging times in the banking industry, Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB) has managed to sustain its growth and profitability. As of August this year, PVB posted a net income of P107 million, despite narrower interest margin.

Total assets of the bank increased from P13.16 billion in 2001 to P13.21 billion in 2002. PVB’s loan portfolio also increased from P3.67 billion in 2001 to P3.99 billion in 2002, reflecting PVB’s cautious stance in building risk assets portfolio.

Capital funds, which had increased year after year through the retention of the bulk of profits earned from operations, stood at P3.81 billion despite the fact that PVB appropriates for the board of trustees of Veterans World War II equivalent to 20 percent of net income after reserve and preferred shares’ dividends.

Out of 41 commercial banks in the Philippines, PVB ranked 14th in liquidity (liquid assets to total assets) with 45.86 percent, and second in solvency (debt to equity ratio) as of June 2002 in terms of capital adequacy ratio (CAR), which indicates whether a bank has enough capital to absorb unexpected losses. Here, PVB registered 43 percent, which is very much above the minimum requirement of the BSP of 10 percent.

PVB initiated a P122-million investment in information technology with the acquisition of an integrated banking system at the start of this year. It is also currently undertaking full user acceptance tests to ascertain a successful implementation of the financial modules by November, and roll-out to all its 43 branches nationwide its Deposit Modules (Savings, Current and Term Accounts) not later than the 1st quarter of 2003.

These will allow the bank to have a multi-currency accounting system and state-of-the-art deposit system complete with computerized pictures and signatures of clients accessed online anywhere in its network of branches.

The comprehensive loans and treasury modules will commence its implementation activities and will likewise be available bankwide by the 2nd quarter of 2003. These initiatives aim to strengthen operations and facilitate introduction of more and new product lines to the bank’s clients in both the government and private sectors.

To further improve its services and achieve its vision of becoming the Bank of Choice in the Philippines, PVB recently entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with ePLDT and the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) to undertake an innovative service using interactive terminals or point-of-sale terminals.