Chinabank racks up record income, industry-leading returns
Sy family-led China Banking Corp. (Chinabank) delivered its strongest performance on record in 2025, posting a net income of P28 billion.
This increased by 13 percent from a year earlier, driven by sustained growth in its core lending and fee-based businesses.
Chinabank told the exchange on Thursday that its latest earnings translated to a return on equity (ROE) of 15.6 percent and a return on assets of 1.6 percent. Its ROE is so far the highest among big banks in the country.
Lending remained the primary growth engine. Interest income rose 12 percent to P105.2 billion, supported by strong demand across corporate and consumer segments. This helped offset rising interest costs and allowed Chinabank to maintain a healthy net interest margin of 4.6 percent.
Meanwhile, fee-based income also increased, lifted by higher transactional fees, trust fees and bancassurance commissions, raising total operating income by 16 percent to P75.7 billion.
Gross loans expanded 13 percent to P1.1 trillion, marking the first time the bank breached the P1-trillion level.
Despite the faster loan growth, asset quality remained stable, with the nonperforming loan (NPL) ratio steady at 1.6 percent.
The bank also boosted provisions, setting aside P7 billion in loan-loss buffer. This pushed its NPL coverage ratio to 109 percent, above the industry average.
On the balance sheet, total assets grew 8 percent to P1.8 trillion, while deposits rose 9 percent to P1.4 trillion, supported by a solid current and savings account base.
Chinabank also strengthened its capital position, with total equity increasing 13 percent to P191.3 billion. Its capital adequacy ratio stood at 16.1 percent, providing room to support future expansion.
Operating efficiency improved, with the cost-to-income ratio at 45 percent, even as operating expenses rose 12 percent to P34.4 billion due to higher manpower costs, taxes and investments in information technology.
Chinabank said it continued to invest in digital and customer-focused initiatives during the year, including the rollout of new credit card products and enhanced mobile banking features.
Founded in 1920, Chinabank is the fourth-largest private universal bank in the Philippines and part of the SM Group.
