Manila Bank takes advantage of remittance, property surge

The Manila Banking Corp. (Manila Bank) will tap the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to prop-up its lending business in the face of an almost nil lending growth appetite in the corporate sector.

And the sector that would benefit from the OFW remittances, is the property sector.

Manila Bank president Benjamin Yamboa said consumer market especially the home lending segment will boost the bank’s earnings.

The housing loans to property developers are tapped by the consumer market, in particular OFWs, which is another form of joint ventures or strategic alliances between financial institutions and property developers.

Manila Bank offers a shorter repayment period for OFW or their beneficiairies.

The repayment period is from three, five and seven years compared to standard 10 to 15 years.

Yambao said that increased housing loan availments of OFWs and their beneficiaries is "also propping-up the domestic economy."

A boost in the property sector results in huge opportunities not only to financial institutions and developers. It also has a trickling effect on other sectors of the economy.

In an earlier interview, Yambao said that Manila Bank is looking at a loan portfolio expanding to P1.6 billion by yearend. The lending thrust will also focus on the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), as well as limited commercial accounts.

It, also, plans to establish 10 more new branches this year to widen its reach. Manila Bank has about 75 unutilized branch licenses. It operates 23 branches and 25 ATMs (automated teller machines) nationwide.