RCBC sees P5.4 B profit in 2014

THE RCBC Plaza. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA—Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. expects to post a net profit P5.4 billion this year, flat from the expected level last year in the absence of hefty trading gains seen in 2013.

In a press briefing on Friday, RCBC executive vice president and head of strategic initiatives John Thomas Deveras said the bank may grow its loan book by as much as 30 percent this year— much faster than the average 12 percent growth in the past five years — as infrastructure projects under the public-private partnership framework could boost corporate lending portfolio.

On the other hand, he said, RCBC has shifted most of its securities holdings to the held-to-maturity (HTM) category and was thereby not relying on trading gains this year.

About 80 percent of RCBC’s profits seen in 2014 will likely come from interest earnings, 15 percent from fee-based earnings, and the rest from other income, Deveras said.

The strategic focus in  2014, Deveras said, would be to grow the bank’s loan portfolio and increase the share of the business where margins are higher – particularly lending to consumers and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

In the first nine months of 2013, RCBC posted a net profit of P4.71 billion, 1.41 percent lower year-on-year due to a sharp decline in trading gains. A prospective full-year bottom-line of P5.4 billion for 2013 is lower than the P6.22 billion net profit reported in 2012.

Moving forward, Deveras said, RCBC was in a position to boost its SME portfolio, having invested heavily in infrastructure and core technology platform. He said RCBC’s SME lending would be supported by the bank’s considerable branch footprint outside Metro Manila, “robust” credit scoring system and ample deployment of loan officers to the countryside.