THE Bank of the Philippine Islands sees its loan book for small enterprises expanding by 10 percent this year on the back of stronger consumer confidence driven by the country’s stable economic performance and easing inflation.
BPI’s annual integrated report for 2022 showed that it lent P12.1 billion to 112,000 small-sized and medium-scale enterprises clients last year. Last month, the BSP decided to pause its aggressive monetary policy tightening campaign as it believes that inflation is now “firmly on track” to hit the government’s target.
He added the lender believes the digital platform, called “Ka-Negosyo On The Go” would allow BPI to reace more SMEs nationwide “because it is online and accessible from anywhere.” Ocliasa described the bank’s digital platform as an “acquisition tool” as he sees it bringing a fourth to a half of the Business Banking segment’s loan portfolio in the future.