China Bank profit hits P3.6B

Sy family-led China Bank Corp. posted P3.6 billion in net profit in the first half, unchanged from a year ago, on reduced reliance on securities trading.

Six-month core or recurring operating income grew by 15 percent to P13.3 billion, driven by the sustained growth in core businesses, while total operating income grew by 7 percent year-on-year to P13.1 billion.

Net interest revenue for the semester rose by 20 percent year-on-year to P11.1 billion on the back of robust growth in loans and securities.

The bank grew its loan book by 18 percent to P469.4 billion, driven by strong demand across all customer segments, with consumer lending growing by 21 percent.

Improving loan yields offset the rise in funding cost, leading to an improvement in net interest margin to 3.16 percent from 3.07 percent.

Fee-based revenues were down 32 percent year-on-year to P2.1 billion as the bank reduced its reliance on securities trading.

Deposits expanded by 18 percent year-on-year to P653.4 billion, underpinned by a 32-percent increase in low-cost funds to P374.6 billion.

For every P1 of deposit generated, the bank was able to lend out 72 centavos.

The bank ended June with total assets of P768.4 billion, rising by 17 percent from the previous year.

Citing tighter loan monitoring and remedial efforts, the bank maintained asset quality amid the loan expansion.

Nonperforming loans (NPL) dropped by 4 percent, which led to an improved NPL ratio of 1.5 percent of total loans.

NPL coverage improved to 107 percent from previous year’s 93 percent at the consolidated level, and even higher at 181 percent at the parent bank level.

Total capital funds grew by 4 percent to P83.6 billion. Common equity tier 1 (CET 1) and total capital adequacy ratios stood at 12.6 percent and 13.3 percent, respectively.—DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA