The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Gains from its core business lifted Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co’s (Metrobank) net income in the first half by five percent to P9.5 billion.
In a report to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the bank, which posted a record-high P2 trillion total assets as of end-June this year, said loans and low-cost deposits are the main factors for the rise in its income.
Net loans and receivables went up 21 percent year-on-year to P1.1 trillion, with commercial loans leading the segment through a 24 percent rise followed by the 17 percent uptick of consumer loans.
Amid the increase in loans, non-performing loans (NPL) ratio remain low at 0.9 percent and NPL coverage ratio is still strong at 109 percent.
The increase in loans resulted to the 3.7 percent improvement of net interest margin and the 16 percent jump of net interest income to P29.6 billion, which accounts for 73 percent of total operating income.
Low-cost current account and savings account (CASA) deposits grew by 15 percent during the same period, faster than the 10 percent industry average, and now has a share of about 61 percent of the bank’s P1.5 trillion deposit base.
Non-interest income totaled to P11.1 billion in the first six months this year, with service fees and commissions and income from trust operations amounting to P5.9 billion, net trading and foreign exchange gains, P2.5 billion; and miscellaneous income, P2.7 billion.
Operating expenses during the period rose by nine percent to P23.8 billion.
Metrobank Senior Vice President Jette Gamboa, in a statement, said performance in recent quarters “demonstrate our ability to deliver quality earnings from our core banking business.”
“We are staying the course and executing in line with our strategic goals. Our deliberate effort to focus on our customers and continuous improvement in service delivery has positioned us to generate stable recurring income despite the volatility in the financial markets,” he said.
“Metrobank is very optimistic about the growth prospects of the economy. Our strong capital position and healthy balance sheet allow us to continuously support the business needs of our customers,” he added.