Barclays shifts towards secured lending

Executives at the country's second biggest bank announced the policy shift when presenting the company's full year 2012 results showing an eight percent increase in impairment charges to P125.7 million. During the same period, the Bank upped its credit risk control framework leading to slim growth of the loan book by three percent to P6.3 billion.

Barclays Finance Director, Lipalesa Makepe, last week told journalists that the shift towards secured lending and the tighter credit policy in retail lending were due to the prevailing tough economic conditions. She said the new move was designed to improve the quality of returns.