Security Bank doubles profit in first half

MANILA, Philippines — The earnings of Security Bank Corp. more than doubled to P6.24 billion in the first half from P3.12 billion in the same period last year, driven by growth in core businesses, lower credit provisions, and normalized income tax provisions.

Security Bank president and CEO Sanjiv Vohra said the bank is very pleased by the continued improvement in its core businesses.

“Our growth in loans and investment securities is a tangible manifestation of our commitment to clients to support the reopening of the economy and address the impact of inflation,” Vohra said.

Security Bank reported a 6.4-percent rise in net interest income to P14.44 billion from P13.57 billion, as well as a steady non-interest income of P4.78 billion from P4.77 billion.

Service charges, fees and commissions rose by 21.7 percent to P2.61 billion from P2.15 billion, led by increase in fees from deposits, credit cards and capital markets.

Other non-interest income, excluding securities trading gains and fee income, jumped by 47 percent to P2.2 billion, driven mainly by foreign exchange income and recovery on charged-off assets.

According to Security Bank, total operating expenses declined by 12.8 percent to P11.15 billion from P12.79 billion despite the investments in technology and manpower to improve customer experience. This translated to a cost-to-income ratio of 55.9 percent compared to 56.4 percent a year ago.

The publicly held bank reported a 83.2 percent plunge in provision for credit losses to P407.88 million from January to June compared to P2.44 billion in the same period last year.

The non-performing loan (NPL) cover of Security Bank increased to 92 percent from 90 percent despite the improvement in the NPL ratio to 3.28 percent from 3.65 percent.

Security Bank reported an improved return on assets at 1.7 percent from 0.92 percent, as well as a return on shareholders’ equity of 10 percent from 5.05 percent.

For the second quarter alone, the bank’s net income surged by 139 percent to P3.52 billion from 1.47 billion.

For the first semester, Security Bank reported a 15-percent expansion in its loan book to P490 billion and a nine percent increase in deposit base to P569 billion.

Security Bank continues to be among the country’s best-capitalized private domestic universal banks with a common equity tier 1 (CET-1) ratio of 16.7 percent and capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 17.2 percent.

Shareholders’ capital  stood at P124 billion, while its asset base grew by nine percent to P766 billion. The 71-year old bank has a total of 316 branches and 657 ATMs nationwide.