The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Riza Lozada
The Ayala group’s banking unit Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) posted a 25.6 percent net income growth in the first quarter to P6.25 billion.
In a report to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the bank attributed the quarter’s profit growth to the 17.6 percent expansion of revenues to P17.96 billion and the 15 percent rise in net interest income to P11.49 billion.
Non-interest income also contributed to this output after it rose 22 percent to P6.46 billion, boosted by higher trading gains, service charges, underwriting fees, and income from asset sales, it said.
Loans expanded by 19.9 percent year-on-year to P1.03 trillion and deposits by 10.7 percent to P1.44 trillion, with low-cost deposits accounting for the bulk at about 73.9 percent.
Operating expenses also went up by around 11.2 percent to P8.73 billion due to additional personnel, regulatory costs, and funding for operational infrastructure, with the latter aimed at improving the bank’s processes and information system.
BPI’s total asset as of end-March 2017 amounted to P1.73 trillion, 12.4 percent more than that of a year ago. The bank to set aside about P1.2 billion for loss provision.
At the end of the first three months of the year, the bank’s return on asset (ROA) stood at 1.5 percent while Return on Equity (ROE) is at 15 percent.