UCPB Rural Bank declares dividends

UCPB Rural Bank declared cash dividends to its common and preferred stockholders recently totaling P69.9 million following record-high earnings last year. The dividends represent 43 percent of the bank’s common stock and two percent of its preferred stock.

UCPB Rural Bank, which is majority-owned by UCPB, posted a net income after tax of P161.1 million in 2000, an all-time high for the bank and 15 percent higher than the P139.8 million earned in 1999.

Other stockholders include the Alubijid-Laguindingan-Gitagum Integrated Farmers Association, a 1,000-strong coconut farmers cooperative based in Mindanao.

The strong earnings performance pushed up UCPB Rural Bank’s earnings per share to P1.01 from P0.89. Return on average equity or ROE for the year was 23.15 percent. This marked the sixth consecutive year that UCPB Rural Bank registered an ROE higher than 20 percent, making it the most profitable rural bank during the period.

UCPB Rural Bank President Romeo Z. Geroy said the bank’s steady performance is due to its success in developing a lucrative market niche. In the last six years, the bank has established itself as a major player in the consumer loans market in the areas where it has presence. The bank has 16 branches mainly in the Visayas and Mindanao.

"We concentrate on where we are good at. We saw that most of our businesses are coming from retail customers, so we made sure that we are able to address the needs of this market segment," Geroy said.

The bank is developing new products for individual borrowers including a housing loan package that can be paid through salary deduction. It is also looking at venturing into micro financing to support livelihood projects of micro entrepreneurs, coconut farmers and rural-based workers in the countryside.