BSP books profit in first quarter
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) posted a profit in the first three months as it continued to book higher gains from foreign exchange fluctuations.
The BSP posted a net income of P160 million in the first quarter, a complete reversal of the P3.19 billion losses incurred in the same period last year.
The central bank’s revenues fell 14 percent to P13.17 billion from P15.3 billion as miscellaneous income from trading gains plunged 75.6 percent to P1.67 billion.
Expenses also slipped 3.6 percent to P16.68 billion in the first quarter from P17.31 billion in the same period last year.
Int er e s t expense on loans and other foreign currency deposits as well as cost of minting or printing of currencies declined four percent to P11.55 billion from P12.02 billion.
Income from foreign exchange fluctuations amounted to P3.67 billion from January to March as against the P1.18 billion losses incurred in the same period last year.
The BSP managed to trim its losses by 57.5 percent to P4.3 billion last year from P10.11 billion in 2014. Revenues increased 14 percent to P56.75 billion from P49.78 billion, while expenses went up by 5.7 percent to P72.78 billion from P68.87 billion.
The central bank is faced with the challenge of dealing with the consequences of a strong foreign exchange inflows that have resulted in the strengthening of the peso against other currencies.
The BSP has been incurring heavy financial losses since 2010 in an effort to temper currency fluctuations that could be destabilizing.