BPI Securities seeks to double client base with revamped trading platform

BPI Securities Corp., the stock brokerage arm of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), on Wednesday said it targets to more than double its client base in the next two years with the rollout of its revamped online trading platform, BPI Trade.

According to BPI Securities Corp. president and chief executive officer Mark Rome Race, the company wants to hit 300,000 clients by 2027 from its current base of 100,000, given the growth of online trading.

“This is also part, a big factor why we’re trying to revamp our platform, so with that in mind, we know that the growth is there,” he said in a briefing in Makati, citing the 63% growth in online trading accounts from 2020 to 2023.

“We know that the Filipino investor is more modern, they’re more adept to investing, especially in risky assets like the equities, stocks. In terms of assets, of course, we plan to more than double in the next two to three years, and we hope to tap that investor base here locally,” he added.

Race said the company is optimistic that the growth will be driven by the new BPI Trade platform, which is scheduled to be officially publicly launched on May 28.

The platform will have a fully digital account opening facility, with an end-to-end digital process. It will not have a minimum initial investment and will feature real-time market information, along with access to insights and research from analysts of BPI Securities.

“Our goal is to make stock investing more approachable, informative, and convenient for all Filipinos,” Race said, with plans to diversify offerings to include mutual funds that the company aims to offer by the end of 2025 or early 2026.

The online account opening facility is currently only available to existing BPI clients and select users, with plans to broaden access in the coming months. It is available through the web browser, with the integration into the BPI Trade mobile app expected soon.

BPI, the parent firm of BPI Securities, reported a 9.0% growth in its net income for the first quarter of the year to P16.6 billion from P15.3 billion last year. Revenues grew 13.1% to P44.7 billion, with net interest income up 15.3% and non-interest income up 6.3% to P10.3 billion.

The bank said it is looking at low-teen loan growth of 12% to 13% this year, after increasing by 13.2% last year, as it seeks to have non-institutional loans account for 30% of its total loan portfolio. —VAL, GMA Integrate News