Landbank expects to close year with a ‘strong finish’

State-run financial giant Land Bank of the Philippines expects profits for the year to breach its full-year target following its strong performance in the nine months ending September.

Landbank president and CEO Gilda Pico said the company wanted to “finish strong” amid the aggressive expansion of its priority business segments in the countryside.

“Our efforts are geared towards contorting to the government’s goal of promoting sustainable development and financial inclusion, bringing financial services to underserved and unbanked areas,” Pico said in a statement.

In the nine months to September, the bank said its profits rose to P10.27 billion, up 11 percent year-on-year. This was 14-percent higher than the company’s internal target.

Its gross loan portfolio grew 21 percent to P441 billion from P362 billion, while investments jumped 11 percent to P304 billion from P274 billion in September 2014.

The bank’s total assets likewise grew by 25 percent to P1.14 trillion from P911 billion in September 2014. Total deposits rose to P991 billion, up by 27 percent from P782 billion in the same period last year. Total capital meanwhile stood at P77.3 billion. Paolo G. Montecillo