By Kap Maceda Aguila
IF YOU DIDN’T know it yet, a car loan is key to realizing mobility for a great majority — up to some 80% — of us. But, to be honest, things can get a little dicey when the monthly payments need to be met. Depending on your financial capability and the regular demand on your budget, servicing a car loan can cause a great deal of anxiety.
That’s exactly what the folks at the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) were thinking when they cooked up the aptly named “Hot Summer Promo” — it is literally scorching out here, and these deals are coming in hot. “Today, we are introducing another innovation in auto loans (through the) MyKotse which extends the loan term beyond the usual 60 months to 72 to 84 months, which will make owning a car even more affordable. We understand that the monthly amortization is a deterrent to many. To address this, we have stretched the loan term to reduce the monthly payments to fit the family budget of more Filipinos,” said BPI Executive Vice-President and Head of Consumer Banking Ginbee Go in a recorded statement last week, played back during the program’s launch event. BPI is also offering extended payment terms on its housing loans (branded MyBahay).
Through MyKotse, BPI now becomes the only bank in the country to offer “extended loan tenors of six years and seven years, depending on the car’s engine displacement,” up over the industry standard of five years.
BPI offers a minimum auto loan amount of P500,000 and a minimum loan term of three years — applicable to brand-new passenger cars (including SUVs and pickups) and big bikes. These must be for personal or private use. To illustrate how lengthening the payment period affects the monthly servicing of the loan, BPI Retail Lending and Bancassurance Group Head Dennis Fronda said during his presentation that a Honda City may typically entail a monthly payment of P18,000 over five years. This sum will be trimmed down to P15,000 per month over seven years. Another benefit is the ability to go upmarket in vehicle class for the same monthly spend.
For housing loan clients under the MyBahay program, the minimum loan amount is P1 million, with a minimum loan term of 10 years. Packaged in its “Hot Summer Promo,” BPI is also raffling off free all-expenses-paid trips to a local or international destination for clients and partner brokers/dealer agents.
According to Mr. Fronda, vehicles (with the exception of several brands) with an engine displacement of above 1.4 liters are eligible for the full 84-month term. He added to “Velocity” that BPI is still in the process of finalizing its list of qualified brands for the six-year term. “Six years is still not bad,” he underscored.
Notably, those looking at getting electrified vehicles will be pleased to note that BPI is putting them (hybrids and battery electrics) in the mix. “Even before all the noise on EVs, we had been including these vehicles and making them available to our customers,” added the executive.
The “Hot Summer Promo,” runs from April 24 to May 31, 2023 for online, branch, and dealer/developer-referred accounts. Qualified individual and corporate clients include those whose applications “are received within the promo period and booked on or before June 30, 2023 for auto loans, and on or before July 31, 2023 for housing loans.”
Through the program, BPI expects “to generate 30% higher business volume for (its) auto and housing (loan portfolio).” Tucked in the programs are all-in offers of low rates, free insurance, and waived bank fees.
“With the continuous recovery of the economy and upbeat consumer confidence in spending, we will continue to explore new opportunities to capture a wider market share. This will be done through remarkable payment solutions and exciting offers such as the ‘Hot Summer Promo’ to our clients,” concluded Mr. Fronda.
