The Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) is eyeing a surge in its consumer loan portfolio (TLP), from P126 billion in 2023 to P160 billion this year, to be driven by targeted campaigns and innovative special programs.
Ramil De Villa, head of RCBC’s Consumer Lending Group (CLG), is confident in achieving 2024 targets.
“As the unit with the highest growth target among RCBC’s business units, CLG aims to increase its share of growth even further,” De Villa said.
Loan growth will be driven by campaigns and programs, targeted selling using analytics, new products, upgrading of the existing loans management system, continuous process improvement and internal sales growth.
Furthermore, the company’s monthly booking has recorded a 117-percent year-on-year increase, from P 2.482 billion in January 2023 to P5.4 billion in Jan 2024.
Auto and housing loans registered strong growth in its share in RCBC’s total loan portfolio, aside from other consumer products like credit cards, personal loans and salary loans.
“That’s how aggressive we are growing the business. We intend to sustain our momentum this year through our strong synergy with one of our biggest shareholders,SMBC [Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp,]. SMBC has a specific interest in consumer loans,” De Villa said.
SMBC increased its shareholdings in RCBC in 2023, from 4.999 percent to 20 percent, bringing in P27.126 billion of new Core Equity Tier 1 capital to the Bank.
This capital infusion is part of the Bank’s capital raising plan to support long-term sustainable asset growth and investments in technology and cyber security and human resources.
SMBC is one of the largest banks in Japan and is the commercial banking arm of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG), while RCBC is a leading financial services provider in the Philippines, offering a wide range of banking and financial products and services.
Meanwhile, RCBC has partnered with a Japanese global IT and fintech company, Digital Wallet Corporation (DWC), to enhance the facilitation of cross-border digital transactions between Philippines and Japan.
Martin Tirol, RCBC first senior vice president and global transaction banking group head, said this newly-forged partnership with Digital Wallet will accelerate frictionless digital cross-border transactions and fintech adoption between Filipinos in Japan and the Philippines.
“Digital Wallet also shares the same value we have — being a partner through generations,” he further said.
DWC is an information technology (IT) and fintech company operating Smiles Mobile Remittance, Japan’s number one remittance service with the largest ATM network access to its customers.
It was also the first fintech and remittance company to receive the Good Design Award 2021, with its remittance service also being voted number one by the Filipino community in Japan.
By utilizing RCBC’s extensive reach and expertise in catering to the needs of millennials and tech-savvy consumers, especially in the Philippines, Digital Wallet aims to further empower its customers with Smiles Mobile Remittance.
