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MANILA – BPI’s micro-finance arm BPI Direct Banko on Monday said it was “on track” to meet its six-fold target growth this year driven by loans made mainly by market vendors.

Launched in 2017, BPI Direct Banko expects to finish the year with 50,000 loans released, averaging between P60,000 to P70,000, its president Jerome Minglana told ANC.

“We will be closing the year and having released about 50,000 loans. Yes it maybe small and it may not be a big push of the portfolio of bigger BPI but in terms of touching people’s lives, we are there,” he said.

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Despite rising interest rates, the bank is trying “to make ends meet” without changing their current rates, Minglana said, adding that "it’s the number of people that you help, rather than the amount."

The thrift bank plans to open 200 branches nationwide before the end of 2018.