Philippine bank earnings up 4 percent to P190.2 billion

MANILA, Philippines — Earnings of Philippine banks went up by 4.1 percent to P190.21 billion in the first half from P182.76 billion in the same period last year, based on data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Preliminary data showed that the total operating income of banks in the country rose by 10.5 percent to P610.3 billion from January to June compared to P552.4 billion in the same period last year.

The banking sector’s net interest income increased by 15.5 percent to P505.8 billion as interest earnings went up by 20 percent to P729.1 billion, while interest expenses climbed by 31.2 percent to P222.7 billion.

Likewise, banks’ non-interest earnings declined by 8.8 percent to P104.5 billion, as profits on the sale of other assets plunged by 53.8 percent to P6.7 billion.

During the first semester, fees and commissions earned by banks increased by 10.8 percent to P77.1 billion, while trading gains went up by 39 percent to P13.9 billion.

The non-interest expenses of banks also climbed by 10.2 percent to P341.2 billion.

Further, Philippine banks are allocating more provisions for credit losses in the first half amid a high interest rate environment.

Data showed provision for bad debts rose by 28.5 percent to P51.4 billion in the first half from P40 billion in the same period last year. This, as the amount of soured loans written off stood at P1.5 billion, nearly five times higher than the P292.6 million a year ago.

For universal and commercial banks, their net income grew by 5.3 percent to P178.9 billion in the first half from a year-ago level of P169.9 billion.

Sy-led BDO Unibank reported a 12-percent increase in net income to P39.4 billion in the first half, followed by Ayala-owned Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) with a 21.5-percent surge to P30.6 billion, and Ty-led Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) with a 12.9-percent increase to P23.6 billion.

Meanwhile, total assets of the Philippine banking industry rose by 12.4 percent to P26.19 trillion in the first half from P23.3 trillion in the same period in 2023.