MANILA, Philippines - The Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) has expressed concern over the uncertainties of 2012, and its impact on the country’s banking system in particular, and the Philippine economy, in general.
However, Metrobank president and chief executive officer Arthur Ty said that the results of 2011 “will be good.”
Ty is confident that the bank’s lending portfolio will grow in double digits for the year behind a balanced and robust retail and corporate market.
The auto market is still good although slightly weaker compared to 2010, which took advantage of the unusual demand resulting from damage caused by typhoon Ondoy.
“But the housing sector is very strong, with demand strongest from the middle market,” the bank chief executive added.
Metrobank’s portfolio is broadly divided into corporate, middle market and consumer markets accounting for a portfolio share of roughly 60 percent, 13 percent and 27 percent, respectively.
Deposits are expected to report steady of low double digits, as the public trust toward the banking system remain firm.
In the first semester of the year, Metrobank report net interest income grew 12 percent year-on-year to P14.7 billion on the back of a 13-percent growth in the loan portfolio with sustained demand coming from the corporate and consumer sectors.
Last year, the bank registered an internal corporate record of P8.4-billion net income, 39-percent higher than the P6-billion realized in 2009.
Meanwhile, the possible debt and financial crisis in Europe, and the threat of a double-dip recession in the United States, are the principal culprits that will weight heavily on the way the Philippine economy will perform.
Metrobank officials said that pressures on the economy is still external, as the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) is not expected to register any major deviation from the five to 5.5 percent rate.
Philippine exports, especially the electronic and semi-conductor sectors, are expected to suffer further if the US economy will experience a double-dip recession.
Likewise, the Philippine banking system is not overly exposed to financial stress in Europe or the United States.
While there are few direct channels of impact, the Philippine banking system is not vulnerable to any potential escalation of financial stress elsewhere in the world.
Meanwhile, Ty revealed that they are still bullish towards expanding in the China market. Metrobank has already deployed four operating outlets with an appetite for 20 more in the next five years.
Metrobank’s China regional office is located in Nanjing, with two full bank branches in Shanghai, and one representative office in Beijing. The target areas for branch expansion are the key cities as Xiamen, Guanzhou, as well as additional outlets in Shanghai, Nanjing and Beijing.
“The Chinese market is a long term program for Metrobank,” the bank president said, during the formal launching yesterday of a remittance partnership with Wells Fargo & Co., a financial institution based in San Francisco, USA.