RCBC earnings grow 36% in Q1

MANILA, Philippines — The profit of Yuchengco-led Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) jumped by 36 percent to P2.1 billion in the first quarter,   buoyed by robust core business growth that offset the rise in provision for potential loan losses.

RCBC president and CEO Eugene Acevedo said the listed bank’s net income continued its upward trajectory.

“We are confident that we can sustain this performance as we step up our efforts to strengthen the bank’s core businesses, and continuously explore opportunities to provide the best customer experience,” Acevedo said.

The bank’s return on equity (ROE) improved to eight percent from 6.3 percent, while its return on assets (ROA) increased slightly to 0.9 percent from 0.8 percent.

RCBC’s total gross income grew by 19 percent to P9.9 billion, driven by the 25 percent jump in net interest income.

The Yuchengco-led bank reported a 35 percent surge in earning assets as customer loans inched up by seven percent, while investment securities portfolio more than doubled.

Corporate lending grew by eight percent, while loan disbursements to small and medium enterprises increased at a faster rate of 16 percent from January to March this year.

RCBC managed to maintain a 3.4 percent increase in operating costs, helping the listed bank to improve its cost- to-income ratio to 59 percent in the first quarter of the year.

The bank’s provision for potential soured loans jumped by 70.9 percent to P1.6 billion from P936 million as it continued to reinforce its credit buffer.

According to the bank, its total resources grew by 20 percent to P962 billion with total loans and receivables accounting for 56 percent as well as investment securities with a share of 29 percent.

“This growth was propped up with a diversified funding portfolio, boosted with the issuance of ASEAN sustainability bonds in February 2022,” RCBC said.

The order book for the fund raising activity reached P14.8 billion, almost five times oversubscribed due to solid demand from investors.

RCBC’s capital base reached P109 billion as of end–March, translating to a capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 14.8 percent and a common equity tier 1 (CET-1) ratio of 11.7 percent.