Metrobank income rises 25% to P13.3 B

MANILA, Philippines - Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) reported an increase of 25 percent in its unaudited consolidated net income to P13.3 billion in the first nine months of 2015.

In a statement, the Ty-owned bank said net interest income rose to P36.3 billion, large enough to account for over 70 percent of total operating income.

Total outstanding net loans and receivables grew 10 percent to P768.9 billion.

Metrobank said it continued to prioritize expansion in the emerging commercial small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and retail customers which, combined, increased 19 percent year-on-year.

“Both segments continue to post healthy growth, supporting the 10-percent increase in outstanding net loans and receivables,” it said.

Checking account, savings account (CASA) increased 14 percent to P652.6 billion, while consolidated deposits settled at P1.2 trillion as of Sept. 30, 2015.

The bank maintained its net interest margin at 3.6 percent, one of the highest among local banks.

Meanwhile, Metrobank reported P14.1 billion in non-interest income. This came from P7.4 billion in service charges, fees and commissions, which went up 11 percent from last year; P1.1 billion in net trading and foreign currency (FX) gains; and P5.7 billion in miscellaneous income.

Operating expenses remained under control at P29.4 billion, relatively flat compared to the same period last year.

Asset quality remains better than industry as non-performing loans (NPL) ratio registered at 1.2 percent. For the period, Metrobank set aside provisions for credit and impairment losses of less than P2 billion.

Metrobank ended the third quarter with an equity base of P192.4 billion, the highest among local banks, which translated to a 19.9-percent capital adequacy ratio (CAR) and a 16-percent common equity Tier 1 ratio (CET1), both comfortably above the central bank’s minimum requirements.

Metrobank continued to pursue its coverage expansion strategy to improve customer accessibility. – With Lawrence Agcaoili