MORE clients are taking interest in the Bank of the Philippine Islands’ (BPI) savings portfolio that offers higher interest earning, an official said.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Ayala-led bank reported that its Maxi-Saver Savings portfolio registered double-digit growth.
BPI said their clients are placing their money in the savings account with higher-than-average interest while waiting for the opportunity to invest their funds.
“One of the factors that keeps the ordinary Pinoy from investing is not having enough cash on hand to cover the initial investment amount,” BPI Head of Deposits Carmina Marquez said.
“This is something that you have to plan and prepare for, so that when a good investment opportunity comes along, you have enough savings to turn that opportunity into a tangible asset,” she added.
The Maxi-Saver account, Marquez said, is a pseudo-time deposit that allows the clients to have guaranteed interest gains, which are better than what a regular deposit account would potentially earn.
It also has no minimum holding period nor pretermination fees. This means the depositors can access their funds when they need them already.
To open a Maxi-Saver account, BPI said a minimum deposit of P50,000 is required.
Earlier this month, BPI Investment Management Inc. (BIMI) announced its partnership with asset manager BlackRock Inc. in launching a feeder and income-paying mutual fund.
The feeder fund will invest at least 90 percent of its assets to BlackRock Global Fund Multi-Asset Income Fund, allowing local investors to access offshore securities, including equities, bonds and alternative investments.
BIMI said that the unit holders can expect regular and consistent dividend income per month.
“This is a product with many firsts for BIMI and should broaden our product offerings to suit the changing needs of investors,” BIMI President Martin Enrile said in an earlier statement.
BPI saw its profits in the first nine months of 2020 drop to P17.17 billion from P22.03 billion in the same period the previous year despite revenues climbing by 9.7 percent to P77.88 billion.
Common equity tier 1 ratio and capital adequacy ratio stood at 15.46 percent and 16.35 percent, respectively, which are both above minimum regulatory requirements.
BPI shares slid by 1.54 percent, or P1.30, to close at P83.20 apiece amid the 0.77-percent decline for the benchmark index on Wednesday.