Both the Bank of the Philippine Islands and the Union Bank of the Philippines on Monday reported strong net income growth in 2021, on the back of higher deposits and loans.
BPI, the third-largest lender in terms of assets, said Monday net income went up 11.5 percent year-on-year to P23.88 billion, driven by lower provisions and record-high fee income.
It said fourth-quarter profit hit P6.4 billion, or 51.2 percent higher than in the same period in 2020, and 13.2 percent up quarter-on- quarter.
“Improving mobility conditions led to higher transaction volumes which fueled the sequential growth in revenues by 9.7 percent quarter-on-quarter,” BPI said in a statement.
The bank booked provisions of P13.13 billion, or 53.1 percent lower compared to the P28 billion recorded in 2020. NPL ratio was at 2.49 percent, with NPL coverage ratio at 136.1 percent.
Total loans reached P1.48 trillion, a 4.9-percent increase year-on-year, on higher mortgage, credit card and microfinance loans. Total deposits grew by 13.9 percent to P1.96 trillion, coming from CASA and time deposit growth of 10.3 percent and 28.2 percent, respectively.
Total assets went up 8.4 percent to P2.42 trillion.
Meanwhile, UnionBank said net income rose 9 percent in 2021 to P12.6 billion, driven by the strength of core businesses. The bank said this translated into an above-industry return on equity of 12.0 percent.
UnionBank president and chief executive Edwin Bautista said the 2021 performance was a validation of the bank’s digital transformation strategy. “We hit key strategic milestones that ramped up our growth aspirations. Customer accounts grew by 2.5 million this year, with close to 1 million accounts coming from our digital-only account opening offering,” he said.
Bautista said the current and savings account growth was at an all-time high for the second consecutive year, owing to cash management solutions.
“UBX hit an inflection point with its e-commerce platforms, with transactions breaching the one million-mark in the month of December alone. Our digital bank, UnionDigital is also on track for commercial launch by middle of this year,” Bautista said.
Together with its digital initiatives, Bautista said the bank’s top priority in 2022 is the smooth transition and migration of Citi’s consumer banking business.
“We are committed to uphold Citi’s superior customer experience and provide a new home for all Citi employees in UnionBank,” he said.