BSP profit soars to P109.7 billion in 9 months

MANILA, Philippines — The earnings of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) stood at P109.7 billion as of September, nearly five times higher than the P22.3 billion in the same period last year amid higher interest income.

Preliminary data showed the total revenues of the central bank, mostly comprised of interest income on foreign investments, government securities and treasury bonds, surged by 55.7 percent to P244.3 billion in the first nine months from P156.9 billion a year ago.

Interest earnings jumped by 24 percent to P179.1 billion from P144.2 billion, while income from miscellaneous activities rose by five times to P65.2 billion from P12.8 billion a year ago.

The BSP’s miscellaneous income includes trading gains or losses, fees, penalties and other operating income, among others.

The total expenses of the BSP went down by 11.3 percent to P161.8 billion from P182.4 billion as interest expenses rose to P125.6 billion from P123.9 billion. Other expenses fell by 38 percent to P36.2 billion from P58.4 billion.

On the other hand, the BSP booked a net gain of P82.5 billion from foreign exchange fluctuations in the first nine months, reversing last year’s P25.4 billion losses.

The BSP books gains or losses from fluctuations in foreign exchange rates on matured, sold, paid and exchanged or settled foreign exchange assets and liabilities. It participates in the foreign exchange market to temper the sharp fluctuations in the exchange rate.

Separate central bank data showed that total assets held by the BSP rose by 10 percent to P8.08 trillion from P7.33 trillion a year ago. Liabilities went up by 8.6 percent to P7.81 trillion from P7.19 trillion previously.

The BSP’s net worth stood at P267.8 billion as of September, soaring by 95.5 percent from last year’s P137 billion.

Based on the 2023 Annual Report of the BSP, the central bank registered a net income of P25.5 billion in 2023,  nearly 60 percent lower than the P63.7 billion recorded in 2022 due to significant increases in interest expenses on both local and foreign currency financial liabilities.

Despite the drop in net income, the BSP’s total revenue rose by 26.6 percent to P212.8 billion in 2023 from P168.1 billion in the previous year.

The growth in revenue was mainly due to the higher interest earned from international reserves, particularly foreign securities and foreign securities under agreements to resell.