MANILA – The United Coconut Planters Bank board, in a special meeting yesterday, voted for the extension of the bank's life by another 50 years to allow it to pursue its pioneering efforts in the banking industry and its key role in countryside development.

The extension of the bank's corporate life allows the bank to continue its profitability as it sets its sights on its performance for 2012, primarily by creating more technology-driven products and expanding its loan portfolio, remittance business, fee income and branch network.

"With the extension of the bank’s corporate existence now a certainty, it can sustain its growth momentum towards becoming a bigger and stronger financial institution," UCPB president and chief executive Jeronimo Kilayko said.

The bank's extended life also assures the government of the repayment of bank's obligations and the continuing one of its primary mandates to improve the lives of Filipinos in the countryside who most need financial services and assistance.

The bank has a long history of leadership after its establishment in 1963 and its becoming the first private local bank to become a universal bank and obtaining its expanded commercial banking license in 1981.

Despite temporary impediments towards its further growth, UCPB plans to open five more branches during the year, bringing the bank’s branch network to 193 – allowing it greater market access, primarily coconut farmers and other industry stakeholders, whose welfare was the key reason for the establishing the bank.

In 2011, UCPB's unaudited net income reached P3.05 billion, a 25 percent growth from a year ago, as the bank made significant strides in its loan and checking account and savings account generation, treasury trading, real and other properties owned and acquired disposal.

UCPB loans expanded by 13.4 percent to P57.5 billion last year with corporate loans accounting for 73 percent or P42 billion of the total. Consumer loans grew at a faster rate with a 34 percent increase from P11.6 billion to P15.5 billion in the same period.

CASA amounted to P109.76 billion, up P9.89 billion from 2010 and provided funding for the loan portfolio. As a result, the bank improved its margins with a seven percent hike in its net interest income amounting to P5.8 billion.

By the end of 2011, UCPB’s total assets reached P201.87 billion, 9.84 percent higher than the P183.78 billion in 2010 while total capital increased by 17.69 percent to P17.3 billion. As for its capital adequacy ratio, it rose from 10.6 percent to 11.92 percent which is well beyond BSP’s requirement of only 10 percent.*PNA

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