Demand for loans lifts Chinabank earnings to P24.8B
Growth across the core businesses of China Banking Corp. (Chinabank) offset higher expenses last year, thus lifting its net income by 13 percent to a record P24.8 billion.
In a stock exchange filing on Thursday, the Sy family-led bank said revenues jumped by 21 percent to P65.5 billion due mainly to its net interest income expanding by a fifth to P63.5 billion.
High demand across all customer segments likewise pulled up gross loans by 18 percent to P933 billion.
Despite this, the nonperforming loans ratio, a key indicator of asset quality, eased to 1.6 percent from 2.5 percent previously.
“We continue to remain focused on executing our strategies to deliver quality service to our customers and stellar financial results to all our stakeholders,” Chinabank president and CEO Romeo Uyan Jr. said in a statement.
Bigger spending
The bank’s gains outweighed the 14-percent uptick in operating expenses which reached P30.7 billion as it ramped up investments in manpower and technology, as well as volume-related taxes.
Still, Chinabank, the country’s fourth largest private bank, saw its cost-to-income ratio improve to 47 percent from 50 percent in 2023.
Chinabank’s financial performance translated to a return on equity of 15.6 percent from 15.5 percent.
As of end-December, total assets stood at P1.6 trillion, up by 11 percent.
“With ample liquidity and a solid capital structure, we can confidently support our institutional and retail customers and advance our growth strategies while ensuring financial stability through market volatilities and economic challenges,” Chinabank chief financial officer Patrick Cheng said in their disclosure.
Earlier this month, Chinabank rejoined the 30-strong Philippine Stock Exchange Index after more than a decade. The benchmark index contains the largest most actively traded companies listed on the local bourse.
Uyan pointed out that this reflected strong investor interest and “confidence in our long-term vision and in our ability to execute our strategic initiatives.”
Chinabank’s stock price has surged by 36.46 percent to P86.85 each since the beginning of the year.
