BPI reports net income in 2017
Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) reported that its net income inched up 1.7 percent to R22.42 billion last year, although profit excluding one-off gains from the sale of securities in 2016 surged 31.3 percent.
Total revenues reached R71.02 billion in 2017, up 6.7 percent as net interest income climbed 13.4 percent to R48.04 billion as a result of asset growth and improvement in net interest margin.
“We come out of 2017 stronger than ever. While the Bank has grown significantly in the past several years, we intend to continue to invest in people, technology and branches to support and benefit from a surging Philippine economy. Inclusive, profitable growth will be our focus,” said BPI President and CEO Cezar P. Consing.
Non-interest income dipped 4.9 percent to R22.98 billion in the absence of the one-off trading gains recorded in the previous year. However, net of one-off gains from the sale of securities in 2016, non-interest income grew by 18.4 percent.
The absence of one-off gains was partially offset by higher fee-based income which climbed to R19.9 billion, a boost of 15.6 percent year-on-year, driven by higher credit card fees, trust and investment management fees, insurance fees, bank commissions and service charges.
Operating expenses totaled R38.53 billion, up 10.3 percent as spending on technology, operations and marketing increased in order to sustain growth initiatives, and as asset growth was accompanied by an increase in regulatory costs.
Provisions for loan losses taken in 2017 amounted to R3.80 billion, 20.9 percent lower than 2016 in anticipation of the recognition of excess reserves under Philippine Financial Reporting Standards (PFRS) 9, which prescribes new accounting standards for financial instruments and impairment.
Total loans stood at R1.20 trillion, reflecting a robust year-onyear growth of 15.5 percent, driven primarily by corporate loans.
Asset quality improved with the gross 90-day non-performing loans (NPL) ratio declining from 1.46 percent to 1.29 percent, and the reserve cover ratio increasing from 118.7 percent to 129.2 percent.
Total deposits reached P1.56 trillion, up 9.1 percent with the current account and savings account (CASA) ratio at 71.2 percent. Loan-to-deposit (LDR) ratio stood at 77.0 percent.