Thrift banks expect a double-digit growth in loans and deposits this year amid the sustained robust economic outlook, a high-ranking executive of the Chamber of Thrift Banks said Wednesday.
“We hope to grow [our loans and deposits] by double-digit this year… We remain optimistic of the growth prospects especially in the countryside,” CTB president Rommel Latinazo said in a news briefing in Makati City.
“We hope to continue to expand in numbers with the high confidence of our clients in thrift banking. The stability of our economy gleans the solid economic gains achieved in recent years,” Latinazo said.
Latinazo said earlier robust demand for loans would continue to come from housing; micro, small and medium enterprises; and consumer loans.
Gross loans last year jumped 20 percent to P687.27 billion from P572.31 billion in 2014, reflecting sustained lending activity of the sector to its niche operations.
Total deposits climbed 13.9 percent to P797.607 billion in 2015 from P699.874 billion in 2014. Thrift banks’ deposits accounted for 8.6 percent of the entire banking system. In terms of currency mix, bulk of deposit liabilities remained toward peso deposits which had a 93-percent share while the balance of 7 percent was filled in by dollar deposits.
Thrift banks had over 6.2 million deposit accounts as of September 2015. About 70 percent were deposit accounts of P5,000 and below.
Total assets last year reached P995.17 billion, up by 12.9 percent from P880.97 billion in 2014. Total capital rose 17.8 percent to P128.11 billion as of end-December 2015 from P108.789 billion a year earlier.
Latinazo said the industry would continue to be challenged by the stiffer competition, but the sector remained optimistic of its established foothold in the countryside.
There were 68 thrift or savings banks nationwide as of end-December 2015. These included 28 savings and mortgage banks, 18 private development banks, 18 stock savings and loan associations and four micro finance-oriented banks.
Thrift banks had a total of 2,086 offices nationwide. In terms of location, 74 percent were located in Luzon, 14 percent in Visayas and 12 percent in Mindanao.
The chamber will hold its annual convention in Makati City on March 18 in a bid to solidify its role as conduits of growth between the financing industry and micro, small and medium enterprises, socialized and low-cost housing sector and countryside businesses.
