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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Banking & Finance devider Salmon Bank raising capital to ₱1.6 billion for thrift license

Salmon Bank raising capital to ₱1.6 billion for thrift license

Published Mar 20, 2026 05:03 am
Salmon Group is infusing ₱400 million in fresh equity into its Philippine banking unit, a move designed to fortify its balance sheet and clear the regulatory path for a thrift banking license by next month.
In a statement on Thursday, March 19, the lender said the capital injection will lift Salmon Bank’s total equity to ₱1.6 billion upon completion in April 2026.
The bank, which currently operates under a rural banking license, is targeting its conversion to a thrift bank—a transition that requires a minimum capital threshold of ₱1.2 billion under Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) regulations.
According to the Salmon Bank, this additional “headroom” is intended to support a more aggressive expansion of retail financial products as the lender pivots toward a broader digital banking footprint.
The capital hike follows a period of rapid scaling for the technology-driven challenger bank. In its 2025 fiscal results, Salmon Bank reported that its customer base doubled while total deposits grew nearly threefold compared to its 2024 baseline. Total assets jumped 2.2 times to ₱4.4 billion, supported by a doubling of gross revenue during the same period.
The lender's profitability metrics remained an outlier compared to traditional peers. Salmon Bank reported a net interest margin of 40 percent, a figure it claims significantly outperforms the industry averages for rural, thrift, and digital banking sectors.
The bank’s total loan portfolio, which focuses on small-ticket retail credit, expanded 2.5 times year-on-year. Despite the rapid credit growth, asset quality remained stable, with the gross non-performing loan ratio held at two percent.
Raffy Montemayor, Salmon Bank chairman and co-founder, attributed the performance to growing consumer trust and an emphasis on AI-enabled credit scoring.
He noted that the superior capitalization provides the necessary momentum to sustain this growth trajectory while maintaining a disciplined approach to risk management.
To fuel its lending engine, the bank has aggressively pursued retail deposits through high-yield offerings. Salmon Bank currently offers competitive interest rates on time deposits starting with placements as low as ₱5,000, while larger depositors with balances of at least ₱1 million can access premium rates of up to eight percent per annum.
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