Riding out a controversy, Pag-IBIG Fund boosted its assets to a new high, Vice President Jejomar C. Binay, the agency’s chairman of the board, said on Thursday.
Pag-IBIG chalked up P376.09 billion in assets, a growth of 9% or P31.42 billion higher than the P344.67 billion assets posted in 2013, Binay said.
“Average assets growth of the agency in the last four years is 7.88%,” Binay said during the Home Development Mutual Fund’s Midterm State of the Fund Address at the SMX Convention Center.
The Fund also recorded last year an all-time high gross income in the amount of P30.68 billion, with a net income of P16.22 billion – the highest in the Fund’s history.
Average growth in gross income over the last four years is 8.34%. The Fund’s net income, on the other hand, has a higher growth rate over the same period, posting an average of 9.96% over the same period.
The Vice President also said that Pag-IBIG’s net income is comparable to that of the top banks in the country because of its growing assets.
“The dividends we have been crediting to Pag-IBIG members is also consistently growing,” he said.
The fund made the gains, negating the impact of controversy involving developer Delfin Lee, accused of using ‘ghost’ Pag-Ibig beneficiaries for his housing projects.
In the last decade, Pag-IBIG has credited P80.73 billion in dividends to Pag-IBIG members’ accounts, with an average dividend growth rate of 9.12%. 58% of this or P47.1 billion was declared in the past five years.
For 2014, Pag-IBIG declared P11.34 billion in dividends, with a dividend rate of 4.18%.
In 2014, Pag-IBIG recorded an impressive housing loan portfolio, a feat propelled by the reforms implemented by the Fund such as the creation of a department focused on marketing the housing business, the execution of strengthened underwriting guidelines, and an efficient collection mechanism, which resulted to high loan takeouts and the best performing loans ratio the Fund has ever attained in its 34-year history.
Binay said that last year, the agency provided financial assistance 1,875,760 Pag-IBIG members through the Multi-purpose Loan Program, adding that the time period in the release of loan was cut short as the agency eliminates red tape.
The fund, he said, is worth P38.14 billion and much higher by more than P1 billion compared in 2013.
Binay, who is also Presidential Adviser on OFWs Concerns, said that the agency is currently coordinating with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to assist millions of OFWs.
Transactions at the Pag-IBIG office at the POEA now include over-the-counter payment of membership savings, transaction card printing, member’s record verification, and amortization payments for short-term loans.
From 2010 to 2014, Pag-IBIG registered 3.6 million OFW members bringing to 4 million the total membership of OFW-Pag-IBIG members as of December 2014.
He called on all parties to spare Pag-IBIG from any political propaganda because the agency works for the people’s welfare.