CIMB Bank Philippines Inc. expects to double the amount of loans it extends to Filipinos next year on the back of the encouraging performance of its loan portfolio this year.
The country’s 33rd-largest bank by asset said it has disbursed this year about P25 billion to its borrowers, double what it provided in 2021. The lender also grew its cash-in transactions to over P100 billion this year.
CIMB Bank CEO Vijay Manoharan said in a briefing last Thursday that 60 percent of their current loan portfolio was accounted for by P2,000-worth to P4,000-worth of loans. But some of the loans they extended were larger and reached a million pesos.
“We will grow our loan book very aggressively, close to double from the current position,” Manoharan said. “We see a very strong performance, healthy quality of our books.”
These loans were usually taken out by Filipinos to pay utility bills, education, home improvement, medical bills and other day to day needs while waiting for their next pay check to arrive.
CIMB Bank has also partnered with SeaMoney Finance Philippines Inc. to onboard 2.5 million loan customers in 2023, doubling the 1.3 million users of Shopee’s “buy now pay later,” or BNPL, scheme in the country.
The partnership will also provide an exclusive savings rate to all its BNPL customers. The scheme allows Shoppe users to purchase items today and pay for the same transaction at a later date.
“We will be able to provide Filipinos an easier and more flexible option to fund their e-commerce purchases and ultimately, fulfill their life’s purpose,” Manoharan said.
The bank has been in operation in the Philippines for the past four years and said has since grown its customers to over six million, including 2 million lending customers.
CIMB Bank is offering a savings interest rate of up to 12 percent per annum for the month of December.
The bank also has plans of extending loans to micro-sized, small-scale and medium-sized enterprises. Manoharan said they will start studying how they can help small-scale business owners next year.
“We, at CIMB, are humbled by the overwhelming trust and confidence from our customers since we launched in 2018. Our customers have embraced a new way of banking, the CIMB way of digital banking; and we are grateful for all the milestones we’ve achieved,” Manoharan said.
CIMB Bank Philippines allows Filipinos to open deposit accounts without fees and maintaining balance. The bank promises to make opening accounts easy and be completed in 10 minutes using smartphones.