Philippine National Bank upbeat on trust banking unit

28% increase in total assets attributed to “more focused” marketing efforts and improved product offerings.

Tycoon Lucio Tan’s Philippine National Bank (PNB) on Monday said its trust banking unit was on track to achieve its growth targets for 2010 after posting a 28 percent increase in total assets under management for the first quarter.

The bank’s latest balance sheet showed it held trust accounts of P28.4 billion ($611,410) as of the first quarter.

PNB, which was the fourth-largest private local bank as of end-March with total assets of P283.3 billion ($6.11 billion), said in a statement its trust banking business expanded because of “more focused” marketing efforts and improved product offerings.

"This is the direct result of an organisational restructuring that allowed marketing units to better focus on our market segments and aligned support units for efficient delivery of service to clients," said Rafael Ayuste, head of PNB Trust Banking Group.

The other factor, he said, was the review and improvement of PNB’s array of trust products to ensure that these match the needs of the bank’s diverse client base.

"All these efforts are part of our growth plans for the year,” he said.

View the full story in Business Mirror.