BDO still PH’s biggest bank in terms of assets as of end Q1

Henry Sy’s BDO Unibank Inc. remained the country’s biggest bank both in terms of assets and capitalization at the end of the first quarter, the latest Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed.

As of March 31, BDO had P1.99 trillion in assets, up from P1.94 trillion at end-2015 and exceeding George Ty-led Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co.’s P1.38 trillion, which declined from P1.46 trillion a quarter ago.

State-run Land Bank of the Philippines, with end-March assets worth P1.29 trillion (from almost P1.2 trillion a quarter ago), moved up to third place from fourth position as of the end of 2015.

Landbank displaced Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands, which slid one notch even as assets rose to P1.25 trillion from P1.24 trillion at the end of last year.

Lucio Tan’s Philippine National Bank was the fifth largest bank in terms of assets, with P647.1 billion, up from nearly P629 billion a quarter ago.

Security Bank Corp. ranked sixth, with P516.6 billion in assets. It was followed by state lender Development Bank of the Philippines, seventh (P483.1 billion); China Banking Corp., eighth (P470.3 billion); Yuchengco-led Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., ninth (P408.3 billion); and Union Bank of the Philippines, 10th (P355.4 billion).

When ranked according to total stockholder’s equity, BDO remained in first place with total capital of P203.2 billion, BSP data showed.

The other universal and commercial banks that were among the 10 with the highest capitalization were: Metrobank (P185.5 billion); BPI (over P151 billion); PNB (P99.5 billion); Landbank (P90.1 billion); RCBC (P59.8 billion); Security Bank (more than P56 billion); China Bank (almost P56 billion); Union Bank (P54.3 billion); and DBP (over P43 billion).

Last week, debt watcher Fitch Ratings said a growing economy coupled with a stronger regulatory and operating environment were auguring well for big Philippine banks’ growth.

“The strengthening operating environment for the Philippine banking sector supports the ratings of the nation’s large banks,” Fitch said in a statement last Friday.