PNB eyes more loans to SMEs and consumers

2 weeks ago

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PHILIPPINE National Bank (PNB) is looking to expand its loans to consumers and small and medium enterprises (SME) this year, according to its top official.

“Our total exposure is more on corporate loans, but we are going in the direction of increasing our exposure to small and medium enterprise and consumer loans,” PNB President and Chief Executive Officer Florido P. Casuela said in an interview with BusinessWorld last week.

The lender aims to raise the share of retail and SME loans in the total to 25-30%. About 80% of PNB loans are corporate, Mr. Casuela said.

He added that PNB would leverage its strong presence in rural areas to increase loans to consumers and small businesses.

“We are strong in the countryside, so we have a lot of branches, and we should take advantage of our distribution outlets,” he said.

Mr. Casuela also expects PNB’s investments in renewable energy projects to boost its performance. “The present projects we have are quite profitable for us.”

“We have a lot of exposure to energy companies and if there’s one that’s good to us or good for the country, we would finance it,” he said. “I can’t talk about the figures but we already have a large exposure to renewable energy projects.”

PNB signed a $36-million financing deal with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) last month for solar energy company Buskowitz Energy, Inc. to fund solar rooftop projects in the country.

The deal aims to support the development, construction and operation of 20 to 25 solar rooftop projects with 70 megawatts of solar capacity.

The projects are expected to generate 88 gigawatts of clean energy annually and reduce equivalent carbon dioxide emissions by about 54,000 tons.

Companies with solar rooftop projects that will be supported by the financing include Coca-Cola, Lufthansa Technik, UniLab Group, SM Prime and Phelps Dodge.

PNB’s net income rose by 10.4% year on year to P5.31 billion in the first quarter amid higher interest earnings and lower provisions and expenses. — Aaron Michael C. Sy