ONB sets new benchmarks

MANILA, Philippines - The One Network Bank (ONB) has reached another milestone when it turned on its 102nd automated teller machine (ATM) and opened its 81st branch for business.

It is the first rural bank to operate more than a hundred ATMs, and remained the largest rural bank in terms of the size of its branch network.

A member of the MegaLink ATM network, ONB reported a total of 291,133 ATM cardholders base under its own brand, PeraAgad. However, it represents half of the 550,000 deposit base.

In a recent interview, ONB president Alex V. Buenaventura said that the demand for the installation of more ATMs primarily came from areas that are underbanked or unbanked with no commercial banks and ATMs.

Buenaventura however admitted that commercial banks continue to dominate ATMs located in malls and shopping centers in Davao City.

The 101 and 102 ATMs was installed in its newly opened branch in Babak, Island Garden City of Samal, and in Mountain View College, a Seventh Day Adventist Institution located in Mt. Nebo, Bukidnon Province.

Next year, the Mindanao-based rural bank plans to open another five branches and install 36 ATMs. It is also mulling to “invade” the shores of the Visayan region.

“We learned that there are provinces in the Visayas that remain underbanked or unbanked,” the ONB chief executive added.

ONB is ranked seventh among the 19 members of the MegaLink network.

This year, ONB also received an award for most strategically located ATMs for its 13 PeraAgad ATMs belonging in the top 50 onsite ATMs, and another eight in the top 50 offsite ATMs of MegaLink’s 2,600 ATMs nationwide.

After the first nine months of 2010, net income expanded by 23 percent to P216 million from the P176 million in the same period in 2009. Total resources ballooned by 15 percent to a record P10.6 billion from P9.2 billion.

Full year 2010 income target was placed at P293 million for a 25-percent growth from P234 million last year.

Deposit expanded by 28 percent, or from P6.5 billion in 2009 to P8.4 billion end September this year. Loan portfolio amounted to P5.7 billion, with 86,000 borrowers.

Non-performing loans (NPL) ratio as well as non-performing asset (NPA) ratio remained constant at six percent and four percent, respectively.

Risk-weighted capital adequacy ratio (CAR) stood at a healthy 25 percent at the start of October from the 21 percent in the same period last year.

Return on assets (ROA) also remained unchanged at three percent while return on private investment improved to 26 percent from 23 percent.