Asia United Bank surpassed prepandemic income in Jan-Sept 2022
Asia United Bank (AUB) beat prepandemic earnings in the first nine months of the year after profits shot up by 57 percent to P4.6 billion from the same period in 2021.
AUB said the January to September income was driven by “hefty gains” from lending and trading as well as lower credit expenses. Compared to prepandemic earnings, the lender was up 3.8 percent.
“Since AUB started at the height of the 1997 financial crisis, it has consistently been among the top five publicly listed local banks in the country that have posted healthy profitability ratios. We are extremely pleased to have beaten our pre-pandemic performance as we celebrate our 25th anniversary,” AUB president Manuel A. Gomez said in a statement.
Net interest income during the period rose 14 percent to P9.3 billion while interest expense decreased by 9 percent to P1.2 billion.
AUB also booked a 100-percent jump in foreign exchange gains to P345.2 million and a 850-percent surge in trading and securities gains to P164.2 million.
Provisions for credit losses plunged 27 percent to P1 billion due to the improved business climate versus the previous year.
“Despite beating its pre-pandemic performance, AUB continued to be on the lookout for headwinds, including inflationary pressures due to higher interest rates, continuous peso depreciation against the US dollar, rising commodity prices, geopolitical tensions, and a resurgence in COVID-19 variants,” Gomez noted.
“We will remain prudent, vigilant, and agile, even as we continue to be confident of ending 2022 with a stronger financial position,” he added.
Meanwhile, current and savings account (Casa) deposits rose 5 percent to P214 billion during the period while the Casa ratio improved to 82 percent from 78 percent last year.
Trust income also increased 21 percent to P97.8 million for the period due to higher volumes of its dollar fund and other products.
Net income translated to a return on assets of 1.9 percent and a return on equity of 16.4 percent, the statement showed. Cost to income also improved to 38.6 percent from 44 percent a year ago.
AUB’s total equity increased by 3 percent to P38 billion, resulting in a common equity tier 1 ratio of 14.04 percent and a capital adequacy ratio of 14.64 percent, which were above regulatory requirements.
