BPI to focus on insurance businesses this year

Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) will focus on credit card and insurance this year besides its core businesses of lending and deposit-taking, its president Aurelio R. Montinola III said.

BPI, which is targeting a 10 percent accommodation advance this year, has acquaint a "double-digit" advance during the aboriginal two months of the year.

"But we are additionally condoning that (target). There accept been a lot of accumulated band issuances in the aboriginal and additional quarter. Accumulated lending may not be as able as in the accomplished activity into the additional semester," he said.

BPI intends to action its acclaim agenda to depositors as the coffer has "relatively low bazaar share."

"Our centralized studies appearance you accept lower crime ante back you acclaim them to depositors. That is the affairs that has been happening. We got actual acceptable results. We accept over 20 percent acclaim billings, fresh cardholders and acclaim agenda loans. That is actual encouraging," he said.

Montinola believed there is a "huge opportunity" by affairs activity allowance articles of Ayala Activity Affirmation Inc. to its own clientele.

"It has been apparent worldwide, there is a huge charge for insurance. With a name like BPI and Ayala Life, the advance in the aboriginal two months of the year has been positive," he said.

In 2008, the bank's net assets fell by 35.8 percent to P6.4 billion due to bazaar bulk movement of securities.

"It is adamantine to allocution about income. What we can say is fourth division aftermost year hit us hard. We accept akin our treasury position. Activity advanced this year, we are on a back-to-basics mode. We will apply on demography deposits and lending. We achievement our net absorption assets is strong. We achievement to do more acceptable than aftermost year," he said.

Montinola gave his affirmation to stockholders that the coffer charcoal able and its aggressive cyberbanking position has bigger in difficult times.

While it is accepted abounding customer loans will acceptable become nonperforming accustomed the difficult bread-and-butter conditions, Montinola does not anticipate it will be "too aerial an amount."