Metrobank, PSBank post higher Q1 profits

Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. (Metrobank) grew its first-quarter net profit by 3 percent year-on-year to P5.25 billion on higher interest income and treasury gains.

Philippine Savings Bank, the Metrobank group’s banking arm, also posted a 12-percent growth in first-quarter net profit to P434.8 million with the continued expansion of its core businesses.

For Metrobank, net interest income grew by 1.15 percent while trading and foreign exchange gains rose by 11 percent to P2.52 billion in the first three months from a year ago. Fee-based income contributed P2.2 billion.

Metrobank said it continued to make strides in its core business expansion, with sustained double-digit growth in loans and low-cost deposits, which increased by 11 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, bringing the bank’s ratio of low-cost deposits to 59 percent of the total P1.2-trillion deposit base.

The continued buildup of low-cost deposits fueled the 17-percent rise in net loans and receivables to P873.4 billion, with key contributions coming from the corporate and consumer segments.

Having prioritized growth in key segments, net interest margins for the period improved to 3.6 percent.

On asset quality, non-performing loans (NPL) were kept at 1.1 percent of total loans.

Metrobank ended the first quarter with consolidated assets of P1.7 trillion and equity at P193.3 billion.

For PSBank, loan portfolio expanded by 12 percent year-on-year to P118 billion in the first quarter, mainly driven by auto and mortgage loans.

On the funding side, PSBank’s deposit base rose by 24 percent year-on-year to P136.6 billion, with low cost funds increasing by 21 percent. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla