PNB earnings expand in Q1

IMPROVEMENTS in revenue, lower expenditures, and smaller loan provisions helped listed Philippine National Bank’s net profit rise in the first quarter of this year.

In a disclosure on Friday, the Tan-led lender said it netted P1.8 billion during the period, a pick up of 34 percent year-on-year.

PNB attributed the amount to the 35-percent climb in its net service fees and commissions, which was traced from higher fees from underwriting activities as well as credit cards and bancassurance businesses.

Operating expenses, except provisions for impairment and credit losses, fell 8 percent year-on-year “due to sustained rationalization of non-essential expenditures as well as operational efficiencies as the bank transitions to more automation and technology-driven processes to adapt to the demands of the new normal.”

The bank reported P2.1 billion in credit loss provisions from January to May, down 38 percent from the P3.4 billion recorded a year earlier.

“The lower provisioning level resulted essentially from the bank’s anticipatory build-up of provisions for [the]] most part of 2020 as a proactive approach in addressing potential delinquencies that may arise from the impact of the prolonged pandemic,” it said.

PNB’s net interest income plunged 7 percent to P8.2 billion on lower earnings from corporate, commercial, and small and medium enterprise loans, as well as investment securities, reflecting the downward trend of benchmark interest rates beginning the second quarter of 2020.

Its consolidated resources were P1.1 trillion at the end of March, up 4 percent from the previous year. The bank’s capital adequacy ratio of 14.77 percent and common equity tier 1 ratio of 14.11 percent were both well above the regulatory minimum of 10 percent.

PNB shares declined by P6.95 or 24.39 percent finish at P21.55 each on Friday.

MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO