Bank of the Philippine Islands is considering its first acquisition since 2005 and has had “informal talks” with potential targets, President Aurelio Montinola said.

“When there are opportunities, we can look at them and we can move fairly quickly,” Montinola, 59, who is set to retire next year, said in an interview Friday in Manila. “There are always informal checking but we are not in formal discussions with anyone.” He declined to name the banks.

Bank of the Philippine Islands, also known as BPI, is taking advantage of faster economic growth to boost loans and attract more customers.

The bank raised 10 billion pesos ($222 million) last month from a stock rights offer, which it said may help fund “inorganic growth.”

“An acquisition gives BPI the scale to extend its reach and improve its financial-services capacity,” said Alfred Dy, Manila-based head of research at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, who was rated No. 1 Philippine equities analyst by Institutional Investor magazine’s 2010 poll.

Dy has an “outperform” rating for BPI shares, which have gained 7.5 percent this year to 50.2 pesos.

The lender will likely target profit growth of 10 percent to 15 percent in 2011, Montinola said. The bank will meet this year’s profit goal of 9.6 billion pesos, he reiterated.

BPI seeks to double customers to as many as 8 million and hire up to 200 loan officers in the next five years to expand lending by as much as 300 billion pesos, Montinola said.

“Prudent diversified lending is in our DNA,” Montinola said. By 2014, consumer lending is projected to account for a third of total loans, the same proportion as credit extended to corporates as well as small and midsized enterprises, he said.

The Philippine economy expanded 7.9 percent last quarter, the fastest pace in three years. BPI’s net income climbed 5 percent to 5.6 billion pesos in the first half of this year.