MANILA, Philippines — Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) expects a stronger revenue performance in 2025, with a budget targeting double-digit growth, driven by robust economic prospects and strategic investments.
BPI president and CEO Jose Teodoro Limcaoco told reporters during the 2025 Annual Reception for the Banking Community Friday evening that the bank is targeting higher growth compared to last year but declined to disclose specific revenue projections.
He said that BPI remains optimistic about the country’s economic landscape, citing robust growth in key sectors such as logistics and domestic tourism, trade and imports as well as consumer lending.
“I think the economy will grow robustly this year,” Limcaoco said. “We’re focused on certain industries that I believe will do very well. Logistics, domestic tourism and trade importers will do well this year.”
He also said that BPI’s strategy of transforming its loan portfolio toward consumer loans is yielding results, with consumer lending outpacing institutional growth.
BPI’s merger with Gokongwei-owned Robinsons Bank Corp. is also on track, with integration efforts expected to conclude by the end of this year.
“We’ve integrated a couple of branches already and it went really well. You’ll see those branches transform into BPI-branded ones,” he said. “But we should target and finish the rest of the branches by this year.”
On the other hand, Limcaoco said global and domestic factors pose challenges to the banking industry. Uncertainty surrounding US trade policies and the Federal Reserve’s actions on interest rates could impact currency stability and inflation.
Locally, geopolitical tensions with China remain a manageable concern. But the May elections could boost consumption this year.
“If the Fed (US Federal Reserve) is slower in lowering rates, other central banks cannot really lower rates as well. Otherwise, you risk local currencies depreciating faster,” Limcaoco said.
“Certainly, the governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said there’s an ability to lower rates here because domestic inflation is under control. But you need to be concerned about foreign exchange,” he said.
Limcaoco anticipates the BSP will have room to lower rates by up to 50 basis points this year, a move that could stimulate economic growth further.
Meanwhile, BPI continues its strong commitment to digital transformation, allocating approximately 10 percent of revenues to technology investments.
The bank’s investments in technology have created a “virtuous cycle,” boosting revenues and enabling further tech spending.
BPI’s net income increased by 24 percent to a record P48 billion in the January to September period last year from P38.6 billion in the same period in 2023 as revenues improved by 25 percent to P125.8 billion.
For the third quarter alone, BPI recorded its highest quarterly income of P17.4 billion, rising by nearly 30 percent due to a strong revenue expansion of 26 percent to P44.6 billion.