DBP eyes 1 M new depositors

MANILA, Philippines — Government-run Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) said it is targeting one million new depositors in the next five years as it forays aggressively into the retail-banking segment.

“We’re looking at one million new depositors in the next five years translated to six new depositors per branch per day,” DBP president and chief executive officer Cecilia Borromeo said.

Borromeo said the state-owned bank would focus on small depositors especially those residing in underserved areas of the country as part of its advocacy to introduce more unbanked Filipinos into the financial mainstream.

“We have to go out there and educate our countrymen as financial literacy is one of the advocacies of the bank,” she added.

Borromeo said DBP’s retail segment comprises 25 percent of its total deposits.

The government financial institution is pushing for a five percent growth in deposits, driven by expected rise in deposits from the corporate and government segments.

As of end September, DBP’s deposit levels stood at P367.32 billion, up 15 percent year on year.

DBP presently has 125 branches and three extension offices nationwide.

It is set to open six new branches in 2018 to strengthen its presence in underserved areas in the country and contribute to the government’s financial inclusion thrust.

DBP will open a branch in Davao and is also looking at other unbanked areas in the country.

Apart from expanding its branch network, DBP is also eyeing to tap other new channels to reach out to customers such as e-banking, mobile, and internet banking.

DBP is the eighth largest bank in the country with assets amounting to P557.84 billion as of the end of September. Its loan portfolio jumped 36 percent to P276.46 billion from P203.48 billion a year ago.