MANILA, Philippines — Maybank Philippines Inc. is ramping up its efforts to expand Islamic banking in the country, with plans to activate seven new Islamic banking units (IBUs) by the end of the year.
This comes after the bank’s pilot of its Zamboanga branch, which started operations on Aug. 14, after Maybank received an IBU license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on July 4.
Patrick Dennis Solosa, OIC-president and CEO of Maybank Philippines, said instead of opening up new branches, the bank has plans to activate seven of its existing branches to offer Islamic banking products.
“We’ve had very good success already in the pilot,” he said. “Now, our target is to have seven (IBUs) up and running by the end of the year.”
“It’s quite a feat and I think we’re really heavy in terms of preparations right now just to make sure that we can get everything right for the implementation,” Solosa said, adding that the bank is training its employees on how to sell and service Islamic banking products.
According to Solosa, the pilot IBU in Zamboanga has already reached nearly P20 million deposits in just two months, exceeding the bank’s target of P15 million in deposits by end-2024.
Solosa said the bank is planning to establish IBUs not only in Mindanao but across key locations in Luzon and Visayas. Branches in Cebu, Davao and several areas in Metro Manila are part of the expansion plan.
“I think about six or 10 (branches) will be activated in Metro Manila,” he said. “As much as possible, we want to get good representation across all of the islands and all of the provinces.”
Looking ahead, the bank is optimistic about the contribution of Islamic banking units to its bottom line, although it was initially not factored into income projections for 2025.
“From the initial results that we’re getting, we’re very optimistic that (IBUs) might be a very good source of contribution for our income,” Solosa said.