BPI FAMILY Savings Bank, Inc. is looking to grow its bottom line by a tenth this year, a slight increase from last year’s figure, as the lender is currently streamlining its processes to manage risks as part of a wider bid to double its overall businesses in five years.

The thrift banking arm of Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) said it eyes a softer expansion in its net income by end-2017.

“For this year, we’re projecting a slower growth of about 10%,” BPI Family Savings Bank President Maria Cristina “Ginbee” L. Go said in a briefing on Wednesday when asked for the lender’s outlook for the year.

The thrift lender saw its net income reach P4.4 billion in 2016, up 5% from P4.2 billion the previous year.

For the past five years, BPI Family Savings’ bottom line grew at an average rate of 10%.

Asked why the bank sees slower growth for this year, Ms. Go said, “We are more prudent at this time. We’re viewing our credit models because we’ve aggressively grown in the past and we have to make sure that we manage the risks as well.”

“Lending has its own attendant risks and we have to make sure that our own credit losses are well within boundaries that’s why we’re doing a lot of process improvements, streamlining, reviewing our credit models,” she added.

For this year, the main drivers for the expected 10% growth will be both the banks’ loans and deposits, the official said.

Asked for the bank’s second quarter financial performance, Ms. Go said it was “very strong in terms of net income,” but declined to disclose any figures.

Meanwhile, BPI Family Savings Bank wants to double its overall business growth in the next five years, primarily in terms of assets, loans and deposits, the official said.

“We hope to replicate our growth performance in the past five years, we’re doubling again in the next five years…and it’s on a bigger base, so we hope to double our business in five years,” Ms. Go said.

According to official, they are looking to double BPI Family Savings Bank’s asset base to P540 billion in five years from P270 billion at end-2016, to be driven by its deposits and loans.

Meanwhile, it wants its total loan book to reach P400 billion in the next five years from P207 billion last year. Total deposits, on the other hand, are projected to grow to P480 billion in five years from the P240 billion booked at end-2016.

Currently, BPI Family Savings Bank’s total customer base is at 1.1 million, bulk of which are retail clients.

“We see the growth opportunities in terms of base really on the personal banking, the more mass-based clients, which is the target clients of BPI Family,” Ms. Go said.

She said the thrift lender is planing to open six more branches before the year ends, all of which will be located outside Metro Manila, with some to be set up in the Visayas and Mindanao.

This will bring its total branch network to 162 by yearend from the current 156.

“We are going to expand our presence and footprint in the Philippines. We’ve realized we are very concentrated in NCR (National Capital Region) and Metro Manila, so we are extending ourselves to outside of Metro Manila, outside of NCR, into more provincial areas,” Ms. Go said.

A month ago, the bank opened its branch in Lipa, Batangas and last week, it opened its Lingayen branch, according to the official. — Janine Marie D. Soliman

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