Security Bank nets P5B

Security Bank Corp. posted P5 billion in net profit last year, about 33 percent lower than the record net income posted in 2012 when it booked extraordinary trading gains.

“Our core business remains strong and continues to grow alongside the buoyant Philippine economy. We have made substantial investments in developing our retail bank and asset management business. Our intent is to develop our retail business to become a meaningful pillar to complement our financial markets and wholesale businesses, as well as improve our ability to provide products and services that respond to our clients’ needs,” Security Bank president Alberto Villarosa said in a statement.

In 2012, the bank’s net profit reached a high of P7.5 billion, buoyed by non-interest income which rose by 44 percent mainly due to securities trading gains.

The P5-billion profit in 2013 translated to a return on shareholders’ equity of 13 percent.

Security Bank expanded its balance sheet last year, posting a 34-percent growth in total resources to P348 billion.

The bank grew its loan portfolio by 38 percent to end 2013 at P165 billion while investment securities rose by 30 percent to P83 billion.

Asset quality remained healthy with non-performing loans accounting for only 0.08 percent of total portfolio. For every P1 of bad loans, the bank provided a cover of about P1.95.

Total deposits increased by 45 percent year-on-year to P206 billion, supported by the opening of 36 new branches last year, 34 of which were Security Bank branches and two were those of thrift bank subsidiary Security Bank Savings.

The banking group had a total of 244 branches as of the end of 2013, of which 204 were branches of the main bank. Over the past five years, the number of branches had more than doubled.

Capital attributable to equity holders rose by 11 percent to P40.8 billion last year. “Our capital adequacy ratio (CAR) is 15.5 percent after redeeming our tier 2 Notes in December 2013 while tier 1 CAR is  15.1 percent, both above the BSP’s (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) minimum requirements,” said bank chief financial officer Joselito Mape.