Security Bank nets P4.9B

SECURITY Bank Corp. booked a 4-percent growth in six-month net profit to P4.9 billion, driven by a strong growth in earnings from core lending activities.

For the second quarter alone, the bank’s net income grew by 42 percent year-on-year to P1.85 billion. This was attributed to a 34-percent year-on-year increase in net interest income to P3.9 billion, a 41-percent rise in service charges, fees and commissions and a three-fold increase in foreign exchange income.

In a press statement on Monday, Security Bank reported a 28 percent growth in first semester net interest income to P7.4 billion. This had offset a P1.4-billion drop in securities trading gains from a high of P3 billion in the first half of 2015 to P1.6 billion in the first half of 2016.

In the first semester, the increase in net interest income was driven by a 29-percent expansion in the loan book to P268 billion.

Corporate and commercial loans jumped by 27 percent while key consumer loan portfolios -composed of home and auto loans and credit card receivables – grew by 61 percent. Net interest margin improved to 3.2 percent in the second quarter from 3.1 percent the previous quarter.

On the funding side, deposit base rose by 17 percent year-on-year in the first half to P301 billion. This was in turn driven by a 23-percent growth in low-cost deposits.