BPI income at at P6.25 B in Q1

The profit of Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) was steady at P6.25 billion in the first quarter on the back of higher expenses and lower non-interest income.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), BPI said its net income in the first quarter was unchanged from P6.25 billion in the same quarter last year.

BPI’s revenue inched up by 2.7 percent to P18.45 billion from January to March compared to P17.96 billion in the same period last year.

The 166-year old bank said its net interest income rose by 8.9 percent to P12.51 billion from P11.49 billion on account of the expansion in average asset base.

The bank said its interest income from loans grew by 18.4 percent, driven by the improvement in loan yields.

The growth, however, was tempered by the higher interest expense, partly due to higher documentary stamp tax (DST) rates on deposits that raised the cost of funds by five basis points.

BPI’s total loan book expanded by 17.2 percent to P1.21 trillion in the first quarter from P1.03 trillion in the same period last year, driven primarily by corporate loans.

On the other hand, its deposit base booked a double-digit 10.4 percent growth to P1.59 trillion from P1.44 trillion.

The bank remains less exposed to interest rate risk as its holding in securities inched up by only 2.3 percent to P309.95 billion, about 90 percent of the portfolio are hold-to-collect.

BPI said its non-interest income fell by 8.1 percent to P5.94 billion from P6.46 billion due to lower income from trust and investment management fees, securities trading and asset sales.