DBP posts 5.8% increase in loan portfolio to P179B

State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines has reported an increase in its loan portfolio, saying the additional loans benefited sectors that the government is prioritizing.

In a statement, DBP said its outstanding loans amounted to P179.17 billion as of the end of June, up by 5.8 percent from P169.3 billion a year ago.

Of the total, the nonperforming portion was only P4.89 billion. This translates to a nonperforming-to-total loans ratio of only 2.73 percent.

Bank officials said DBP’s nonperforming loans (NPL) ratio was comfortable and comparable to industry average.

“We remain financially sound and viable but more importantly, we have remained true to our developmental mandate by supporting critical sectors of the economy,” Francisco Del Rosario, outgoing president of the bank, said in a statement.

Del Rosario, who has reached retirement age and is about to step down in September, said the higher lending by DBP benefited mostly borrowers engaged in infrastructure, logistics and social services, as well as micro, small and medium enterprises.

He said the increase in lending activities helped prop up the government-run bank’s net income in the first semester to P1.9 billion, up by 9.2 percent from P1.74 billion a year ago.

The bank also reported an increase in total assets to P310.98 billion as of end-June, up by 1.52 percent from P306.33 billion a year ago.

The rise in loans was supported largely by a higher deposit base, which hit P133.94 billion as of end-June, rising by about 2 percent from P131.01 billion a year ago.

DBP said its capital remained more than sufficient to cover risks, such as losses from potential defaults from borrowers. The bank said its capital adequacy ratio stood at 21.6 percent as of end-June, improving from 19.36 percent in the same period last year.

The bank’s CAR was much better than the 10-percent minimum requirement of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. CAR is the proportion of a bank’s capital to its risk-exposed assets.