Consumer loans, which provide high margins for banks, are seen to grow slowly.
“Customers, especially those whose incomes were adversely affected, have started to become more conservative, meaning they will probably save more and borrow less,” Acevedo said. He added that a number of corporate and industry sectors would take longer to recover to pre-COVID-19 levels.To deal with such challenges, Acevedo said RCBC would differentiate itself by providing the best customer experience and reengineering traditional products, eliminating unnecessary steps. This means maximizing the mobile channel for uncomplicated products.
One can now do personal investing and deposit checks from other banks using only the mobile app, he noted. The bank has likewise rolled out a check scanning service for corporate clients. Cost-cutting measures, such as rationalizing service branches and ATM networks, are likewise seen inevitable.“In brief, we are closing the unprofitable parts of the business, particularly those that will have less relevance in the future. We have frozen hiring and are right-sizing our teams, enhanced by digital tools like robotics,” he said. INQ