State-run Land Bank of the Philippines said over the weekend net income climbed 12 percent in the first quarter to P4.75 billion from P4.26 billion a year ago on double-digit growth in loans, assets and deposits.
The three-month performance was also 14 percent higher than the income target of P4.16 billion for the period.
Return on equity reached 13.04 percent in the quarter, while net interest margin stood at 3.42 percent, both above the latest industry averages.
LandBank president and chief executive Cecilia Borromeo attributed the strong first-quarter profit to the substantial increase in income from loans and investments.
“Interest income on loans jumped 69 percent as the bank’s gross loan portfolio grew to P867.32 billion from P708.10 billion in March 2018. Meanwhile, income from investments in financial assets grew by 43 percent to P6.36 billion from P4.44 billion,” she said.
Total assets increased 16 percent to P1.89 trillion from P1.63 trillion, while deposits grew 17 percent to P1.68 trillion from P1.44 trillion.
Total capital increased 26 percent to P136.47 billion from last year’s P108.37 billion.
Borromeo said this put the bank in a good position to further drive support for priority sectors, especially farmers and fishers, micro-enterprises and SMEs, agribusiness and other development players.
“We work hard to maintain sound financial position as the profits from our commercial banking operations allow us to move toward our bigger mission of promoting inclusive growth, especially in areas where financial services are not easily available or accessible,” said Borromeo.
She said the bank was continuously investing in technology to pursue inclusive growth thrust and provide greater convenience to clients.
The bank recently opened its 400th branch in Jagna, Bohol, marking its continuing expansion efforts to bring access to financial services and credit assistance, especially to the unbanked and underserved areas in the country.
The bank’s 400 branches are supplemented by 61 branch lites, 44 lending centers and 2,018 ATMs all over the country. It targets to bring its total number of branches to 410 by the end of the year.