Security Bank Corp., one of the country’s largest lenders, said Friday it posted net profit of P3.1 billion in the first six months.
Profit before tax was P5.5 billion, up 20 percent from the same period last year. Net interest declined 14 percent to P13.6 billion from year-ago level while non-interest income went down 52 percent to P4.8 billion, as 2020 was buoyed from extraordinary securities trading gains.
Service charges, fees, and commissions increased 28 percent to P2.1 billion, with fee income sources increasing from their year-ago levels. Operating expense in the first half was slightly up 0.9 percent from the same period last year, driven by investments in technology and manpower to improve customer experience. The cost-to-income ratio was 56.4 percent.
Pre-provision operating profit reached P8.0 billion. The bank set aside P2.4 billion as provisions for credit losses in the first half. Gross non-performing loan ratio was 3.93 percent. NPL reserve cover was 103 percent.