BPI to auction P2B worth of bad assets

The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) plans on putting about P2 billion in bad assets at the auction block, although this move may not involve a special purpose vehicle (SPV).

At their annual stockholders meeting, BPI president and chief executive officer Xavier P. Loinaz said that they would be disposing P2-billion worth of real and otherwise properties owned and acquired (ROPOA) and non-performing loans (NPLs).

Last year, the bank was able to dispose of bad assets worth P1.7 billion without an outside asset management group.

While it was earlier prepared to dispose of its in bad assets through the SPV route, the bank and the consortium that formed the asset management firm failed to come into terms.

During the meeting, Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala was named chairman replacing his father, Don Jaime Zobel de Ayala, who has formally retired. Named bank vice chairman was Jeanette Wong, who has been representing the 20-percent stake of Development Bank of Singapore (DBS Bank) in the BPI board. She is also the incumbent chief financial officer.

The rest of the incumbent board officers and directors were retained.

The commercial bank of the Ayala Group, BPI reported a net income of P5.7 billion last year, or 10 percent better than the P5.2-billion profit recorded in 2002.

Return on equity (ROE) improved to 11.1 percent and return on assets (ROA) to 1.5 percent. The bank’s aggregate capital stood at P87 billion, or 68 percent over book value.

Total resources rose by three percent to P419 billion, fueled by a three-percent growth in deposit levels to P324 billion. Minimal growth, however, was noted as corporate loans remained flat while slight gains were noted in housing and auto loans.

Its non-performing loan (NPL) ratio slipped further to 6.5 percent from 9.6 percent, as efforts continued to rid the bank of bad assets. Total loan portfolio stood in the vicinity of P123 to P125 billion.