Veterans Bank net profit hits P520M

Philippine Veterans Bank grew its net profit last year by 1 percent to P519.89 million from a year ago on the back of higher interest income from lending, trading gains and strategic management of its foreign exchange and investment portfolio.

PVB, a private commercial bank owned by some 400,000 World War II veterans, widows and their heirs, aims to attain at least P500 million in net profit this year, supported by a 15-percent expansion in its balance sheet.

The bank ended last year with P56.48 billion in resources, which it hopes to increase to P65 billion this year. In 2011, however, its resources dipped 3 percent compared to the previous year.

“The bank was able to generate substantial results in 2011 in spite of the historical low interest rates and intense industry competition brought by the excess liquidity in the system,” PVB president Ricardo Balbido Jr. said in a statement.

Balbido did not explain why the bank was projected to post a 3.8-percent decline in net profit this year.

PVB ended last year with capital funds of P5.76 billion, up 5.5 percent from a year ago. Its capital adequacy ratio to risk assets stood at 16.15 percent, exceeding the 10-percent minimum requirement of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

The bank is committed to provide 20 percent of its annual net income to the Board of Trustees for the Veterans of World War II (BTVWWII), which manages programs for the benefit of the war veterans, widows and their surviving families. Doris C. Dumlao