Philippine National Bank said Friday consolidated net income reached P24.3 billion in the first nine months, with core operating income growing by 8 percent in the third quarter, spurred by sustained momentum in core lending and fee-based activities.
The bank’s nine-month net service fees and commissions improved by 52 percent year-on-year, driven by higher investment banking revenues as capital markets re-opened during the year, coupled with the increases in bancassurance fees and volumes of credit and deposit-related transactions.
PNB registered a 3-percent quarter-on-quarter growth in net interest income to P8.9 billion in the third quarter on account of lower costs of funding. On a year-to-date basis, net interest income remained relatively flat against the levels seen in the previous year, despite lower yields on loans and investments brought about by the prevailing interest rate environment in the first nine months.
The bank recognized in May a one-off gain of P33.6 billion from the transfer of prime real estate properties in exchange for shares of PNB Holdings Corp. This aided the bank’s consolidated year-to-date net income to grow six times compared to the earnings in the same period last year.
Trading and foreign exchange gains slid by 66 percent year-on-year to P1.6 billion, resulting mainly from limited trading opportunities in the market during the period.
PNB’s non-performing loan coverage ratio rallied to 63.6 percent as of end-September from 58.2 percent last year, with the booking of additional loan provisions of P1.4 billion in the third quarter. The bank managed to maintain the level of its operating expenses, excluding provisions, at P19.8 billion as it continued to focus on essential expenditures during the pandemic.
Consolidated assets improved by 11 percent from year-ago levels to P1.1 trillion on account of higher loans and treasury assets. Loan receivables grew by 4 percent year-on-year to P600.1 billion as the bank continued to grant loans to financially resilient borrowers.
Deposit liabilities increased by 16 percent year-on-year to P854.7 billion, with growth mostly coming from CASA deposits. The capital adequacy ratio of 14.3 percent and common equity tier 1 ratio of 13.5 percent remained above the minimum regulatory requirement of 10 percent.
“Our performance this quarter shows that PNB continues to be profitable despite the negative impact of the pandemic on some of our customers and the overall economy,” said PNB president and chief executive Wick Veloso.
“With the recent reduction in COVID-19 cases, we are seeing a better-moving economy as the government is allowing more mobility. We continue to serve our customers and work together with the government with the goal of supporting the Philippine economy in the road to recovery,” Veloso said.