MANILA, Philippines—Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. posted a net profit of P5.31 billion last year, 14.6 percent lower than the level a year ago due to lower trading gains from securities.
But excluding the cyclical trading gains, gross revenues increased by 26.67 percent to P20.29 billion, RCBC said in a press statement.
“Last year proved challenging for the bank with developments in the global markets holding back trading gains. The business model transformation of RCBC in anticipation of the changes in economic and regulatory landscape fuelled our growth momentum. Our operating expenses are well-controlled, asset quality is in check, and core businesses are growing robustly. All these are evident in our ratios,” RCBC president Lorenzo Tan said.
The bank grew net interest income by 17.4 percent year-on-year to P13.39 billion. Despite pressures on margins due to intense pricing competition and low interest rate environment, net interest margin improved to 4.25 percent from 3.93 percent in the previous year, remaining one of the highest in the industry.
Riding on the growing economy, RCBC expanded its loan book by growing 25 percent, more than three times faster than its average growth of 8 percent in the last 10 years. Net loans reached P237.92 billion, with the sustained growth in all market segments: corporate (+9 percent), consumer (+22 percent), and small and medium enterprises (+34 percent).