October 18, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and Rebisco-led Asia United Bank (AUB) both saw their earnings reach record-high from January to September, driven by robust revenues and loan portfolio.
In separate regulatory filings, BPI said its net income for the nine-month period increased by more than 24 percent to a record P48 billion from P38.6 billion in the same period last year as revenues improved by 25 percent to P125.8 billion.
For the third quarter alone, BPI recorded its highest quarterly income of P17.4 billion, rising by nearly 30 percent due to a strong revenue expansion of 26 percent to P44.6 billion.
BPI said its net interest income grew by 22 percent to P93.8 billion following a 22-basis-point increase in net interest margin to 4.29 percent.
The bank said non-interest income rose by 32.4 percent to P31.9 billion from securities trading gains of P3 billion while fee income also widened 28 percent to P26.4 percent on higher service charges, credit card fees and bancassurance income.
Further, the bank reported a 22.1-percent jump in total operating expenses to P59.4 billion on higher costs for manpower, transaction processing and technology.
BPI’s loan book grew by nearly 20 percent to P2.1 trillion as of end-September, fueled by growth across all portfolios particularly personal loans, business banking and microfinance.
Total deposits also recorded a 14.5-percent rise to P2.5 trillion. Likewise, the bank’s assets grew by 17.2 percent to P3.2 trillion with return on assets at 2.1 percent.
BPI recorded a non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of 2.3 percent and NPL coverage ratio of 111.17 percent.
Similarly, AUB saw its net income soar by 41 percent to a record-high of P8.6 billion by the end of the third quarter, on the back of higher revenues and lower loan loss provisions.
The listed bank and its subsidiaries posted an P8.6 billion net income from January to September, effectively surpassing the P8.3 billion profit recorded in full year 2023.
AUB attributed its improved performance to its growing business volume, loan portfolio, higher net interest margin and better non-interest income.
Non-interest income grew from improved foreign exchange gain, recovery income and service charges and other fees.
AUB president Manuel Gomez said the bank’s performance is expected to remain robust as it starts reaping the full benefits of the government’s national ID system, with AUB being the first Philippine bank to integrate the Philippine Statistics Authority’s eVerify.
“This will hasten our account opening process and know your customer compliance, reduce paperwork, improve loan application and approval processes and enhance security for financial transactions,” Gomez said.
AUB’s earnings translated to a return on assets of 3.4 percent and a return on equity of 22.4 percent.
Total loan volume picked up by six percent to P198.9 billion, funded by deposits at P282 billion with low-cost current account and savings account deposits comprising 70 percent of its total base while its loan-to-deposit ratio stood at 70.5 percent.
Operational expenses rose by six percent to P5 billion due to higher staff compensation and capital expenditures as it focused on new business growth opportunities.
AUB posted an NPL ratio of 0.53 percent and remained sufficiently covered from probable losses with an NPL coverage ratio of 120.7 percent.
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