Salmon group's rural bank announces new deposit rates

The Rural Bank of Sta. Rosa (Laguna) Inc., operated by the Salmon Group, on Tuesday announced lower time deposit rates for incoming customers, following the strong traction due to its previous rate.

In an advisory, the bank said one-year deposits will be given a new 6.0% rate, while two- and three-year deposits will be given 6.5%. It previously offered time deposits at 8.88%.

“As the inflow of customers increases and our business grows — with the Bank expanding more than 10x on key metrics — we are now taking steps to reflect this maturity in our deposit rates. That is why we have introduced a new deposit rate for incoming customers,” chairman Raffy Montemayor said.

Montemayor earlier said the bank is looking to sustain its loan growth in the second half of 2025, following the 44.82% growth in the first six months.

The bank is also now finalizing its application with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for an advanced electronic payment and financial services (EPFS) license, which will allow customers to make more digital services such as fund transfers and bills payments.

The lender ended the first half with a return on equity (ROE) ratio of 58.9%, return on assets (ROA) of 24.9%, and capital adequacy ratio of (CAR) of 32.7%, outperforming the average of rural banks across the country during the period.

The rural bank last year said it targets to grow its loan portfolio to $2 billion in the next three to five years, as it seeks to expand its customer base by catering to what it calls the “neglected” market and stepping into other countries in Southeast Asia. It ended 2024 with a P1.2-billion loan portfolio. — BAP/RF, GMA Integrated News