State-run Development Bank of the Philippines, the eighth-largest lender in terms of assets, continues the aggressive expansion of its automated teller machines networks nationwide by installing the first off-site ATM at the world-famous Chocolate Hills in Carmen, Bohol.
DBP president and chief executive Cecilia Borromeo said in a statement Friday the newly-installed DBP ATM was the first and only ATM machine located at the Chocolate Hills complex.
“DBP continues to improve its accessibility to its products and services by consistently growing its ATM network,” she said, adding that DBP had a total of 710 ATMs nationwide as of May this year.
Borromeo said the bank installed 81 more ATMs at the end of the first quarter of the year, which is 40.5 percent of its target of 200 new ATMs this year.
“Out of that number, 69 ATMs were installed in provincial sites in line with our commitment to bring banking services to the underserved areas,” she said.
Borromeo earlier said DBP would aggressively target one million depositors in the next five years, focusing mainly on small depositors residing in underserved areas of the country as part of its advocacy of financial inclusion.
“We want as many Filipinos to have their own deposit accounts, and we would want them to go to DBP, and to trust us as their bank,” she said.
The bank’s net income in the first quarter declined to P1.09 billion from P1.29 billion a year ago, due largely to higher provisioning for credit losses consistent with the bank’s objective of maintaining portfolio quality and in compliance with new regulations.
Borromeo said earlier the bank remained on track to achieve its financial targets this year. She said, “overall average cost of funds has been on a steady decline while operating costs have been kept to a minimum.”
DBP’s gross income rose 9 percent from January to March this year to P5.77 billion from P5.29 billion in the first quarter of 2017, while net worth grew to P47.8 billion, up 3.49 percent from the P46.19 billion on the year.