Philippine Savings Bank, the thrift bank arm of the Metrobank group, generated a record-high net profit of P2 billion in the first quarter as hefty trading gains complemented core interest earnings.
The first-quarter net profit was 273 percent higher than the level in the same period last year, the bank disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday.
PSBank grew its net interest income by 8.7 percent to P1.5 billion. Interest earnings from loans went up by 16 percent to P1.9 billion as the bank expanded its loan book by 23 percent to P77 billion. Strong consumer confidence and sustained economic growth continued to buoy demand for loans, the bank reported.
Auto lending rose by 28 percent compared with the previous year while mortgage lending expanded by 21 percent. The bank’s combined small and medium enterprise as well as large corporate loans likewise went up by 25 percent.
Meanwhile, the low-interest rate environment allowed PSbank to post large trading gains from its investments in government securities. Trading gains amounted to P3 billion from only P1.7 billion in the same period last year.—Doris C. Dumlao