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CHINA
Banking Corp., (ChinaBank) has sought the approval of
the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for its P8-billion
issue of long-term negotiable certificates of deposit.
It plans
to sell the certificates, or LTNCDs, in tranches with
the proceeds helping them expand lending and boost asset
growth for the long haul.
ChinaBank economist and corporate information officer
Alex Escucha said the sale of LTNCDs was approved by its
board of directors on Wednesday and was appropriately
disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).
ChinaBank also reported net income totaling P703 million
in the first three months of the year.
While
this was down 7 percent from a year earlier, the bank
said this nevertheless translated to a 10.56-percent
return on equity and a 1.6-percent return on assets.
This
means the lender’s capacity to post profits given its
present equity makeup is rather high, and its ability to
generate the same given its asset base is also
competitive.
ChinaBank reported P177.41 billion in assets from
January to June this year, or 7.6 percent more than a
year earlier.
Its low
cost deposits, an important source of income stream for
the period, continue to expand and have grown by 14
percent in the same period last year.
The bank
also said its operating expenses grew by 11 percent due
to continued branch expansion and the integration of the
branches bought from the thrift bank Manila Banking
Corp.
In
addition, the three-month expenses incorporated the
package of new compensation its employees received at
the conclusion of a successful collective bargaining
agreement.
ChinaBank reported total capital funds of P26.8 billion,
enough to lift the lender’s capital adequacy ratio to
14.59 percent—well above the 10-percent which minimum
mandated by the BSP and also compares with the adopted
global norm of 8 percent.
ChinaBank said its market capitalization has more than
tripled since 2002 and is currently the fourth-largest
among banks whose shares are traded on the PSE. |
