PNB to spend P400M for "facelift"

CEBU, Philippines -  The Philippine National Bank is going to spend at least P400 million for the “major facelift” of its 324 branches nationwide, to keep up with the tough competition in the banking industry.

PNB president and chief executive officer Eugene Acevedo announced that this capital expenditure allocation for the renovation of all branches is only for this year excluding what the bank has spent in the last two years for the same reason.

According to Acevedo, there is a need for the bank to change its physical image, to complement its already in-place world-class operational set-up which was implemented by the bank in the last couple of years.

“PNB has a certain image, old, but there was a positive stroke attached to it,” said Acevedo who was in Cebu yesterday to inaugurate the newly renovated Lahug branch in Cebu City.

The new image of all PNB branches across the country, will give a modern flavor of the bank’s image that depicts being modern, young and cool.

“We want people to see we are taking on new direction in terms of brand image, transforming into a more progressive PNB,” he said.

According to Acevedo the bank has put in significant investment in the top-of-the-line hardware and software tools including its total operational setup or the substance of its services.

To date, the bank had already renovated 83 of its total branches, most are located in Luzon. Within one and a half years, the bank targets to complete at least over a hundred branches to be renovated.

Aside from the physical improvement, the bank is also moving to expand its network as it will open up 15 new branches within this year. Some of the new branches will be located in shopping malls, as the bank recognized the changing behavior of today’s market, wherein mall has become the favorite all-in-one destination.

PNB’s number of automated teller machines will also be increased, as 150 new machines will be deployed in major locations, in addition to its existing 409 ATMs installed in different areas around the country.

In 2010, PNB registered its highest income ever in recent years as net profits surged to P3.54 billion, surpassing the previous year’s level of P2.20 billion by 61 percent.

The bank’s strong earnings performance last year was buoyed by the 21 percent growth in non-interest income of P9.10 billion.

PNB is also adopting a new direction in remittance operations, transferring some of its offshore operations to the Philippines, in order to cut cost.

“We want our remittance business to be more profitable. Before, we were losing money because of high operational expense abroad.

PNB was originally established as a government bank in 1916 but has been 100 percent privatized since 2007. It is now 67 percent owned by the Lucio Tan Group, while the remaining 30 percent ownership is shared by the public investors, and some huge portfolio of foreign stakeholders.

To date, the bank holds a total of 3.1 million account holders, about one million are Overseas Filipino Workers. Acevedo hopes that the bank will attract more depositors from the younger generation. (FREEMAN)