Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands registered a 12-percent profit growth in the first semester to P6.2 billion from year-ago level, driven by a double digit rise in earnings from its core lending business.
For the second quarter alone, BPI’s net profit rose by 18 percent to P3.3 billion. Revenue expanded by 15 percent with increases generated by both net interest and non-interest income.
Return on equity of BPI – Southeast Asia’s oldest bank which is celebrating this year its 160th year – stood at 15.3 percent in the first half while return on assets stood at 1.6 percent.
BPI president Aurelio Montinola III said the bank would likely “maintain or do a little bit better” than a 15-percent ROE for the rest of the year.
Looking at BPI 160 years and beyond, we remain committed to making banking easy for our customers, creating value for them and pursuing a quality growth agenda for our shareholders,” Montinola said.
On the average, he said BPI would likely grow its loan book by 12-15 percent this year. By segment, the small and medium enterprises and provincial clients were seen posting the fastest growth.
BPI’s loan portfolio as of end-June stood at P409 billion, up by 1 percent from a year ago. A broad-based growth was reported across market segments and across the country, reflective of the growing economic activity in the country.
Actual loan growth for the six-month period year-on-year reached 24 percent for the middle market, 20 percent for SMEs, 15 percent for top-tier corporates and 13 percent for consumer segments.
“Corporations are outpacing consumers and I think that’s healthy for the economy,” Montinola said.
BPI’s total revenue for the six-month period was up by 10 percent as net interest income rose by 12 percent, driven by increases in both the average assets and spreads. Other income also increased by 7 percent largely due to service charges, trust fees and rental income.
