Core lending business boosts PNB bottom line

Philippine National Bank (PNB), led by the family of taipan Lucio Tan, reported a 12-percent growth in earnings to P15.1 billion in the first nine months of the year on heightened demand for loans.

According to PNB, its net interest income jumped by 10 percent to P36.5 billion as it booked more loans from its customers.

“The bank’s core revenues steadily increased as we continue to enhance our policies and processes to sustain the growth momentum of the bank’s core lending activities amid continued economic expansion,” Francis Albalate, PNB chief financial officer, said in a stock exchange filing.

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Operating expenses were flat at P21.7 billion as higher business taxes and other business-related costs were tempered by revenue growth.

Total assets of PNB, the country’s seventh largest bank, stood at P1.2 trillion as of the end of September.

PNB earlier raised $300 million from its first offshore bond program in five years, allowing it to beef up its coffers for financing requirements amid lower interest rates.

The bonds, which will mature in five years, had a fixed coupon rate of 4.85 percent. This represents the interest payment that lenders will receive until the bond matures.

The offer was 3.6 times oversubscribed, with demand from global investors reaching $1.1 billion, according to PNB.

Rate cuts typically make fixed-income securities, such as bonds, more attractive because these signal better economic conditions, thus boosting investor confidence.

The bond offer was part of PNB’s Regulation S $2-billion euro medium-term note (EMTN) program.

Regulation S notes refer to debt securities offered and sold outside the United States. EMTNs, meanwhile, give users the flexibility to tailor their debt issuance to their specific funding needs.

“This offering will fund the bank’s sustainable financing activities as we continue to solidify our position among the forerunners of nationwide development across the Philippine banking system,” PNB president Florido Casuela said. —Meg J. Adonis INQ