PNB 9-month profit jumps 21% to P5.7B

Tycoon Lucio Tan-led Philippine National Bank saw a 21-percent year-on-year growth in net profit in the first nine months to P5.7 billion on the back of a double-digit rise in net interest earnings and trading gains.

The bank’s core revenue continued to grow as net interest income rose 13 percent year-on-year to P14.5 billion, contributing to two-thirds of total operating income for the nine-month period.

Despite the drop in yield rates of the bank’s earning assets, the bank reported that net interest margin had been steady at 3.1 percent, supported by the 12-percent growth in low cost deposits which accounted for the bulk of total deposits.

For every P1 of deposit generated, the bank has lent out 70 centavos, reflecting the bank’s continued focus on the efficient deployment of funds to generate a more stable income stream.

The bank’s strong performance for nine months was also attributed to the double-digit growth in non-interest income. Trading and foreign exchange gains surged by 84 percent year-on-year, benefiting from favorable market conditions.

Net gains from sale of foreclosed assets also grew significantly. Higher miscellaneous income continued to augment the bank’s revenue primarily from the collection of nonperforming loans and a one-time gain from the sale of PNB’s 51 percent stake in its life insurance subsidiary.

As of end-September, PNB’s total consolidated resources stood at P718.4 billion, up by 10 percent from the year-ago level.

Asset quality steadily improved as the gross nonperforming loan (NPL) ratio declined further to 2.32 percent from 2.61 percent. NPL coverage is at 137.8 percent. —Doris Dumlao-Abadilla