BDO income returns to pre-COVID-19 level, jumps 51% in 2021

MANILA, Philippines — BDO Unibank Inc. is reverting back to its pre-pandemic form as its income jumped by 51percent to P42.8 billion last year.

“This reflects the bank’s operational resiliency notwithstanding COVID-19-related headwinds depressing loan activity for much of 2021. Overall business conditions appeared to be improving late in 2021,” the country’s largest lender said in a statement.

The bank’s net income stood at a record high of P44.2 billion in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.

The bank, owned by the family of the late retail and banking magnate Henry Sy Sr., said its loan book expanded by six percent, faster than the five percent growth recorded by the banking sector, as mobility restrictions and quarantine protocols eased.

Despite the increase in its loan portfolio, BDO said its non-performing loan (NPL) ratio improved to 2.8 percent in end-December from 3.1 percent in end-September last year.

The country’s biggest bank also reported an eight percent increase in its deposit base, fueled by the 13 percent expansion in current account and savings account deposits.

The bank’s capitalization increased to P424.5 billion, while its capital adequacy ratio remained comfortably above regulatory minimum at 14.6 percent.

“Throughout the pandemic, BDO continued to ensure the safety of customers and employees, especially with banking considered an essential economic service,” the bank said.

According to BDO, approximately 99 percent of total employees are fully vaccinated, with an additional 47 percent receiving booster shots in the last two months.

It added it continues to invest in its digital infrastructure to make banking services more accessible and easier to use.

In addition to mobile wallet BDO Pay launched early last year, BDO clients could also avail of fully digital account opening, paperless in-branch transactions, and card-less ATM banking using biometrics and QR (quick response) codes.

The rollout of the QR-based branch processing now covers approximately 65 percent of the network with full completion targeted by the middle of 2022.

Furthermore, it said that the QR-based processing allows for 80 percent of branch transactions to be processed straight-through end-to-end significantly improving branch productivity and customer experience.

BDO has the country’s largest distribution network, with over 1,500 consolidated operating branches and more than 4,400 ATMs nationwide. It also has 18 overseas remittance and representative offices in Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East.