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Security Bank Corporation (SBC), one of the country’s top private domestic universal banks, today June 18, 2004 marks its 53rd anniversary with the vision of becoming one of the most profitable in the
industry.
“We want to grow more in terms of profitability before size. To achieve this, Security Bank will continue to strengthen its consumer and corporate banking businesses through the launching of new initiatives and products geared toward growth,” said Alberto S. Villarosa, SBC President and Chief Executive
Officer.
Stable net margins, higher non-interest income, and lower operation expenses have all contributed to the bank’s improving profitability. “The bank’s return on average equity continues to rise, placing Security Bank among the top six private domestic commercial banks in the country,” Villarosa
said.
The bank’s senior management team has drafted a five-point growth strategy to sustain Security Bank’s growth and make it a bank of greater
value.
“These strategies are embodied in a three-year plan called the F.I.R.S.T. Priorities. It is our roadmap to becoming one of the country’s top performing banks. With F.I.R.S.T., the bank aims to focus on customers, bring in innovative products, and sustain a results oriented quality and productivity, in order to achieve our goal of enhancing stakeholder value. All these we intend to achieve through teamwork,” he
said.
Security Bank has gained significant ground since it started out in 1951. It is controlled by the family of its Chairman Frederick Y. Dy, who is the bank’s majority shareholder since 1989. The bank went public in 1995, after being listed in the Philippine Stock
Exchange.
With a current asset size of P73 billion, a customer deposit base of P50 billion and capital funds of P10 billion, the bank is considered as one of the most stable banks in the country. Security Bank currently has 114 branches nationwide.
Security Bank, through its subsidiary, SB Cards Corporation, is the franchise holder of the Diners Club International Card and the Security Bank MasterCard, which boast of average cardholder spend of 3.5 times that of the industry average. SB Capital Investment Corporation, the bank’s investment house, is considered as one of the most stable, well-capitalized and active investment houses in the country. Its subsidiary, SB Equities, Inc. is ranked 8th among the country’s stockbrokerage houses in terms of volume
traded.
The bank recently formed a joint-venture with Philamlife for the distribution of life insurance products to add to its roster of financial products and services serving the specific financial needs of its customer base.
Innovative financial products were also introduced by the bank such as the Security Digibanker, the first internet-based corporate cash management system for large corporations.
“Digibanker continues to be the choice of large corporations because of its 24 X 7 availability and its access capability, which allows the user real time access through internet terminals, internet capable mobile phones and PDAs. It’s the first of its kind in Philippine corporate cash management. It even includes the eFPS Realtime module, which allows users to settle their taxes over the internet to the Bureau of Internal Revenue,” Villarosa
said.
The recently-launched CheckRight Automated Checking account, an interest-bearing business class current account and check payments management system, is designed to help the bank’s clients to focus more on their
businesses.
The bank earned P187.5 million for the first quarter of this year, up 20 percent from 2003’s comparable net profit figure of P156 million. Its total revenues also registered a 15 percent growth year-on-year with net interest margins jumping 51 percent versus the first quarter 2003 levels due to higher volumes and better spreads, as well as significant collections on non-performing
loans.
Security Bank will aggressively build its consumer banking business. We see significant potential in consumer-oriented businesses such as lending, insurance referrals, remittance, and the development of new products customized to the needs of the target market,” Villarosa said.
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