Planters Bank sees higher income in 2007

A development bank that specializes in small and medium enterprises (SME) must be thriving in the almost seven-percent economic growth in the country.

And the Planters Development Bank, or Planters Bank, is no exception as it expects to end the year with a net income of P300 million, roughly 10 percent better than the P250 million in 2006.

Planters Bank president and chief operating officer Ma. Flordelis F. Aguenza said that they were so bullish that their loan portfolio expanded from P15 billion to P18 billion. Going beyond P20 billion is likewise not farfetched next year.

These borrowings went, and will go next year, to growth sectors including these in services, trade, housing, food, and agriculture.

Roughly 30 percent of its loan portfolio is basically consumer loans including mortgage or property loans. The rest went naturally to the SME sector.

Yet Aguenza said that the bank’s non-performing loans (NPLs) ratio to total loans is between 10 to 11 percent.

“But we are considering launching another special purpose vehicle (SPV) to dispose of NPLs worth P1.7 billion,” the bank president said.

Deposit grow by roughly 20 percent to P36 billion with just two weeks remaining in 2007. Assets size remained at a comfortable P45 billion.

Next year, Planters Bank is looking to open five more branches adding to its 70 branches nationwide.

Aguenza said that 2008 will be characterized with more borrowings, expanding to new and competitive borrowers, higher liquidity, and better economic fundamentals.

“The real challenge is attaining a healthy bottomline that is risk adjusted for the full implementation by the monetary authorities of Basel II by 2010,” the bank president stressed.    — Ted Torres