State-owned Land Bank of the Philippines, the third-largest lender in terms of assets, said it posted a 2-percent increase in net income in the first eight months to P9.3 billion from P9.1 billion a year ago, led by growth in loans and investments.
LandBank said in a statement the latest figure was in line with its 2017 net income target of P13.75 billion.
LandBank’s capital as of end August reached P100 billion for the first time, up by 9 percent from P91.6 billion in August 2016.
Capital adequacy ratio”•a measure of financial strength”•stood at 12.66 percent, while Tier 1 ratio reached 11.84 percent, both higher than the regulatory limit.
“These strong capital ratios reflect LandBank’s sound financial position and our continuing drive to improve our capital base so we can further expand support to our priority sectors, especially farmers and fishers,” LandBank president and chief executive Alex Buenaventura said.
He said the bank continued to fortify its operations, improve customer service to its wide range of client, and pursue its development thrust of accelerating growth especially in the countryside.
Revenues from loans rose 9 percent as gross loan portfolio jumped 24 percent in the eight-month period to P597.1 billion from P483.6 billion a year earlier.
Income from investments also increased 5 percent to P12.3 billion with total investments reaching P481 billion.
Assets rose by a hefty 13 percent to P1.5 trillion from P1.3 trillion, while deposits increased 14 percent to P1.3 trillion as of end-August.
LandBank said it remained the biggest credit provider to small farmers and fishers, local government units and was the largest lender to microenterprises and SMEs among government financial institutions.
It is the only universal bank present in all provinces of the country with its nationwide network of 375 branches, 41 lending centers and 1,677 ATMs as of Aug. 31, 2017.