Bank of Commerce H1 profit surges 80%

MANILA  -Bank of Commerce, the lending affiliate of conglomerate San Miguel Corp., saw net income during the first semester of 2023 surge nearly 80 percent as its major business segments registered strong growth.

From January to June this year, BankCom said net income reached about P1.6 billion versus P887 million during the same period in 2022.

“Results were primarily driven by the sustained growth in the bank’s core business,” the lender said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday.

BankCom said net interest income alone climbed 28 percent to P3.95 billion mainly from the expansion of corporate loans. Higher lending rates also helped the lender achieve a net interest margin of 4.35 percent.

Total loans during the period grew by 3.2 percent to P108.5 billion.

BankCom said its loan to deposit ratio ended the period at 72 percent, while asset quality remained strong as its net non-performing loans ratio improved to 0.56 percent from 0.6 percent at the end of 2022.

Other income grew 1.5 times to P900 million while service chargers, fees and commissions reached P448 million, up 24 percent.

“The bank’s remittance business, also a fee income generator, recorded a promising growth of more than 30 percent [the first quarter of 2023] given the notable performances of overseas partners coupled with the impact of the successful execution of marketing campaigns,” the filing showed.

Meanwhile, credit provisions amounted to P11.83 million while total operating expenses rose 7.5 percent to P2.74 billion.