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Monday, January 16, 2006
BPI remains confident despite foreign banking rivals
The presence of local and foreign banks does not threaten the Ayala-controlled Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI).
BPI senior vice president for preferred banking segment Imelda Trillo said BPI has secured 20 percent of preferred clients nationwide.
BPI held last Friday an annual meeting with its 300 preferred clients at the Casino Español de Cebu.
“Competition is very stiff not just for the local, big commercial banks but also with foreign banks. But most traditional Filipino depositors still feel more comfortable going for local commercial banks like BPI because it has a large presence in the country,” Trillo said in a press interview.
Control
She added that BPI has a good control of the market in the country.
“Foreign banks can’t say that they have a major share in the market because they have a limited choice of clients (only the top ones). But if you’re a Filipino commercial bank like us, you serve small and big clients. Our bank doors are open to all,” she said.
In Cebu, BPI has a “double digit” market share, she said.
She said BPI has been targeting at least 20 percent of the preferred client sector in the last three years.
The disadvantage of foreign banks is their limited presence. Some of the foreign banks only have a few branches in strategic places or in certain cities, she said.
However, it is also good to have foreign banks in the country because they provide global trends, she added.
Among the foreign banks that operate in the country are the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd., Standard Chartered Bank, Citibank and Bank of America.
Second largest
Trillo said the 155-year-old BPI is the second largest bank in the country with close to 900 branches nationwide. It has 39 branches in Cebu, including the seven branches of the newly acquired Prudential Bank (PB).
In a separate interview, BPI president Aurelio Montinola said the bank is always open to acquiring more banks that would bring additional value to BPI.
But at the moment, he said BPI is not eyeing any bank in particular.
BPI acquired PB last year and Far East Bank in 2000.
“Cebu has a very strategic business environment in the South. It is considered as strong as Makati or other business bailiwicks in Manila…. You cannot have a stronghold on your client base if you are not strong in Cebu. That’s why Cebu is an important market for us,” Trillo said. (ALC)
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