BPI seen to top prepandemic earnings this year

Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) may deliver P33.575 billion in net profit this year, exceeding prepandemic earnings, as lending and fee-based businesses expand while credit costs decline along with loan loss provisions, according to First Metro Securities Brokerage Corp.

A Feb. 7 research note written by First Metro Sec. analysts Estella Dhel Villamiel and Derrick Guarin projected a 44-percent profit growth for BPI this year compared with the P23.31-billion earnings delivered in 2021. This is more upbeat than the market consensus forecast of P31.46-billion net income for this year, based on Bloomberg data.

The earnings forecast for 2022 is also higher than the P28.8 -billion earnings posted by BPI in 2019, or the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic triggered hard lockdowns that disrupted businesses across the globe.

For next year, First Metro Sec. expects BPI to grow net profit by 16.8 percent to P39.2 billion.

This 2022, BPI’s management has signaled that the bank’s loan book could grow by 8-10 percent, picking up pace from a growth of 4.9 percent last year.

“With some segments already at prepandemic levels, management expects stronger loans growth this year as economic reopening becomes more pronounced,” the research said. INQ