PSBank income jumps 50% to P1.38B in H1

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank), the publicly-listed savings bank of the Metrobank Group, reported yesterday a 50 percent jump in its net income to P1.38 billion in the first half of the year.

The bank said the substantial improvement in net earnings was brought about by gains realized from its investments as well as strong growth from its loan portfolio.

For the period under review, PSBank’s gross loans rose 14 percent to P67 billion with double-digit growth rates coming from its consumer loans as well as its Large Enterprise Group (LEG) loans.

The bank’s auto and mortgage loans grew 15 percent and 14 percent, respectively, due to higher demand and improved penetration in PSBank’s branch, dealer and developer channels.

PSBank said its corporate loans, under LEG, likewise went up 28 percent.

Deposits grew by P7 billion from the previous year as it opened 11 additional branches in the first six months of the year, thus increasing its branch network to 211.

PSBank further expanded its ATM network and now has 520 onsite and offsite ATMs all over the country.

The bank’s capital also went up 15 percent to P14.3 billion.

Its capital adequacy ratio stood at 17.96 percent while its Tier 1 capital ratio is at 14.15 percent – above BSP’s proposed Basel 3 limits of 12.5 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively.

Net revenue likewise jumped to P5.9 billion or a P2.2 billion increase compared to the previous year as the bank recognized gains from its investments in government securities as well as a seven percent growth in its interest income on loans.

“We are pleasantly surprised by the strength of loan demand, particularly for mortgage loans. New loan releases for acquisition of houses and condominiums have surged by 50 percent from last year. If this pace holds up in the second half, our loan portfolio will be 18 percent to 20 percent higher than previous year,” PSBank president Pascual M. Garcia III said.

But Garcia admitted that “while loan demand is robust, margins are declining due to competitive loan pricing by banks.”

“This, coupled with less trading opportunities, may moderate profit growth in the second half,” he added.