MANILA, Philippines — China Banking Corp. grew its earnings by 10.2 percent to P16.2 billion from January to September versus last year’s P14.7 billion on the back of robust growth from core businesses and lower loan loss provisions.
Chinabank president and CEO Romeo Uyan Jr. said the bank’s sustained growth reflects the successful execution of its business strategies.
“Despite the current high interest rate environment, we continue to grow our bottom line by preserving our margins, managing our overall costs effectively, and bringing greater efficiencies to our operations with technology,” Uyan said.
For the third quarter alone, China Bank’s net income went up by 16 percent to P5.4 billion
From January to September, the bank’s net interest income went up by 16 percent to P39.2 billion from P33.7 billion as the 44 percent surge in top line revenues cushioned the nearly triple increase in interest expense.
The bank maintained its net interest margin at 4.2 percent.
During the nine-month period, China Bank reduced its total credit provisions to P1.3 billion due to stable portfolio quality, while the bank’s non-performing loan (NPL) ratio hit 2.2 percent.
Despite the lower provision, the NPL cover remained at 126 percent.
The bank also reported a 14 percent rise in operating expenses to P20.5 billion from P18 billion, driven by higher manpower and inflation-related expenses and bigger volume and revenue-related taxes.
The bank’s loan book increased by 10 percent to P765 billion from P676 billion, driven by the 19 percent expansion in consumer loans, particularly teachers’ loans and credit cards.
China Bank’s deposit base booked a 14-percent increase to P1.1 trillion from P1 trillion, fueling an 11 percent increase in assets to P1.4 trillion from P1.27 trillion.
China Bank chief finance officer Patrick Cheng said the bank’s balance sheet remains strong.
“A quality loan book has helped us during a period of rising interest rates. We also continued to optimize our capital structure, maintaining strong capital generation and asset quality,” Cheng said.
Its total capital inched up by seven percent to P141 billion, with common equity tier 1 ratio at 14.9 percent and total capital adequacy ratio at 15.8 percent, well above the minimum regulatory requirement.
China Bank provides a full range of banking products and services to corporate, commercial, and retail customers through 644 branches and 1,068 ATMs to date, including the 165 branches and 201 ATMs of its savings bank arm China Bank Savings.