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Strengthening relationships on both consumer and middle market segments is one strategy for Security Bank Corp. (SBC) to achieve its 25 percent growth target in the Visayas by yearend 2009.
SBC president and chief executive officer Alberto Villarosa said there is a healthy demand for loan portfolios such as housing and auto-finance loans, from both segments as the economy continues to experience the effects of the global crisis.
“We continue to let people borrow. There is a tendency for people to be conservative after they get burned (in bus iness). But that’s not the way we operate business. We are in the business of risk management and not risk avoidance,” he told reporters last week.
The Cebuano bank official was in Cebu last week as keynote speaker of 47th Charter Anniversary of the Rotary Club of Cebu West at the Casino Español.
Villarosa said local banks have been spared from the gravest effects of the financial turmoil which began in the United States.
“An inherently conservative Bangko Sentral and the tendency of Filipino bankers to stay away from overly risky investments or credits saved us from plunging deep into the global economic doom,” said Villarosa.
He said the effects of the crisis are seen in a gradual decline which is characterized by a slowdown in domestic consumption, leveling in remittances from overseas Filipino workers and employment cuts among others.
He encouraged businessmen to focus on growth opportunities and not on the adverse effects of the global economic climate.
“While the global economy has some adjustments yet to face, we need to keep an eye out for the signs of bottoming out. Because when it does, the benefits will accrue to those who are firmly positioned to quickly capitalize on the opportunities,” he said.
Villarosa said low interest rates provide an opportunity to improve efficiency and productivity in these trying times. /Reporter Cris Evert B. Lato
