MANILA, Philippines — Bank of Makati (A Savings Bank) Inc. said it is leveraging on the positive outlook for the motorcycle industry in the Philippines as it steps up efforts to become the bank of choice of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Newly appointed BMI president Luis Chua told The STAR the savings bank would continue to build up its motorcycle lending business as it works toward servicing the MSME sector more.
“From our end, we will work toward servicing the MSME sector by offering products that cater to them. We will also continue building on our motorcycle lending business, especially that the demand for motorcycles for business use is increasing,” he said.
The Motorcycle Development Program Participants Association expects sales to reach two million units by 2022.
“We are banking on the positive forecast on motorcycle sales,” he added.
A dominant player in the motorcycle lending business, BMI’s motorcycle loans jumped 20 percent to P15.67 billion last year from P12.98 billion in 2016. The segment accounted for 70.1 percent of BMI’s loan book.
As of end-September 2017, latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed BMI cornered 96 percent or P14.77 billion of the banking system’s total outstanding motorcycle loan that stood at P15.4 billion as of end-September.
BMI is the third biggest stand-alone savings bank in the Philippines in terms of total assets with P29.31 billion as of end-September and is a leading thrift bank in terms of profitability margins and cost-efficient operations.
The bank’s return on equity stands at 20.82 percent and return on asset at 4.8 percent as of December 2017.
“The new leadership upholds the commitment of BMI to enabling more Filipinos to save for a better future and unleash their potential as entrepreneurs. As we expand our services and reach further, we are confident of becoming the MSME bank of choice,” Chua said.
Based on its three year strategic plan, Chua pointed out new branches would be strategically placed in regions which registers high business growth, significant MSME concentration and consumer traffic.
BMI has more than 60 branches across the archipelago, primarily catering to smaller entrepreneurs and Filipino savers.
He said BMI maintains an optimistic view on the thrift or savings bank industry, especially with the progress made by the government and private sectors to promote financial inclusion across the country.