Metrobank beats prepandemic earnings with 48% jump in 2022 profit

The Ty family-led banking giant Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) beat prepandemic earnings in 2022 after full-year profit soared to a record high.

In a stock exchange filing on Thursday, the country’s second-biggest lender said net income last year jumped 48 percent to P32.8 billion.

This was nearly 17 percent higher than its 2019 profit of P28.1 billion.

“Backed by the strategies we initiated during the pandemic, our solid performance and the recognitions we received in 2022 reflect our efforts to support our clients’ growing needs as the economy reopens,” Metrobank president Fabian S. Dee said in a statement on Thursday.

“With our strong balance sheet and highly capable team of Metrobankers, we stand ready to continue to be the trusted partner of all our stakeholders for the long term,” he added.

The lender said earnings were lifted by strong loans and margins, higher revenues from fees and lower credit expenses.

Metrobank said gross loans for the year rose 14 percent with robust gains coming from its corporate and commercial lending segments. Credit card loans also expanded by 29 percent.

This pushed up net interest income by 14 percent while interest margins also rose to 3.6 percent. Fees and other income bolstered non-interest income by 11 percent to P23.5 billion, the lender said.

The reopening of the Philippine economy in the postpandemic period further reduced its non-performing loans ratio to 1.9 percent from 2.2 percent the previous year. This was lower than the industry average of 3.3 percent, Metrobank said.

Coverage of bad loans stood at 172.4 percent, “reflecting strong ability to cover any potential risks to portfolio health.”

Metrobank said total deposits grew 15 percent to P2.2 trillion, the bulk of which was comprised of low-lost current and savings account deposits. It ended the year with total assets of P2.8 trillion and total equity of P318.5 billion.