Metrobank earnings surge 45% to P6.1B

Metropolitan Band and Trust Co. booked P6.1 billion in consolidated net profit in the first semester, up 45 percent from a year ago, on higher earnings from core lending and other financial services.

For the second quarter alone, net profit surged 83 percent year-on-year to P3 billion, the bank disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday.

This performance boosted the bank’s average return on equity (ROE) to 13 percent from 10.7 percent a year ago.

In terms of nominal peso profit, Metrobank is thus fast catching up with industry leader Bank of the Philippine Islands, which reported P6.2 billion in net profit (up 12 percent year-on-year) over the same period.

The banking arm of the Ty family has also grown its balance sheet by 16 percent to P965.4 billion in consolidated resources at end-June compared with Banco de Oro Unibank’s P1.03 trillion in resources as of the same period.

“Metrobank’s strategy of pursuing sustainable growth and efficiency while safeguarding asset quality has continued to augur well for the bank’s overall performance,” the bank said.  Doris C. Dumlao