PHILIPPINE fintech startup Salmon wants a thrift bank license for Rural Bank of Santa Rosa as it expands its operations in the country.

“Right now, what we can see is that a savings bank will make sense, but we have to make sure that we are ready, capital-wise, and that we are with all the potential criteria of the BSP. We have all the processes in place. But that’s our ambition, a savings bank,” Salmon Group co-founder Raffy Montemayor said on Friday.

Montemayor confirmed plans to initiate the license application process with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) by the end of 2025 with the aim of evolving the Rural Bank of Santa Rosa — which has its headquarters in Laguna and a branch in Cavite — in a retail oriented company. savings bank.

Salmon currently operates a hybrid of online banking and finance services. Its flagship product, Salmon Credit, was launched in September 2023, offering a revolving line of credit for disadvantaged sectors.

Earlier this year, Salmon received regulatory approval from the BSP’s Monetary Board to acquire a controlling interest in Rural Bank of Sta. rose Following the completion of the transaction, Salmon now owns 59.7% of the bank.

Montemayor said that after they get approval to increase the authorized capital to 1.2 billion lei, “we will file in 2025 to increase the authorized capital to more than 2 billion lei.”

“The target of injecting up to £2bn by the end of 2025 is to support further investment in talent, advanced technology, new products and growing the Bank’s loan portfolio,” he said.

In addition to lending services, Salmon has introduced high yield deposit products with an attractive interest rate of 8.8% for term deposits. This helped to increase the bank’s funding base, enabling a rapid growth of the loan portfolio.

The bank will also expand its physical presence with a branch in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig.