Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company (Metrobank) raised its consolidated income by 5 percent to P9.5 billion in the first half of the year as net interest income from target markets expanded by 16 percent to P29.6 billion, or 73 percent of total operating income, based on an unaudited or preliminary numbers.
Metrobank sustained its double-digit growth in loan volume from the same period last year with 24-percent increase in commercial loans to businesses and 24-percent in consumer loans to individual clients. Among the latter, auto loans posted the largest growth at 17 percent.
The recent performances moved total loans and receivables 21 percent higher to P1.1 trillion year-on-year.
“Results from recent quarters demonstrate our ability to deliver quality earnings from our core banking business,” Metrobank Senior Vice President Jette Gamboa said in a statement.
“We are staying the course and executing in line with our strategic goals. Our deliberate effort to focus on our customers and continuous improvement in service delivery has positioned us to generate stable recurring income despite the volatility in the financial
markets,” Gamboa added.
In April the universal lender committed to increase loans to agribusinesses in the countryside by employing up to 80 percent more personnel for its 959 branches, 55 percent of which are located in the provinces.
Low-cost deposits also increased by 15 percent, surpassing the industry growth in current account and savings account (Casa), or combined savings and withdrawable accounts, at 10 percent in May 2017 and resulting in 61-percent Casa-ratio growth on its P1.5-trillion
deposit base.
The measures contributed to higher profitability as net interest margin, which reflects revenues from paying deposits and lending funds, rose by 3.7 percent.
Metrobank also improved liquidity as nonperforming loans (NPL) ratio with unpaid interest declined by 0.9 percent, which is lower than the industry rate. Thus, NPL coverage remains to be more than adequate at 109 percent.
Noninterest income reached P11 billion, which consisted of P5.9 billion in service fees and commissions and trust operations, P2.5 billion in net trading and FX or currency exchange and P2.7 billion in miscellaneous income.
Shareholders also contributed capital of P205.6 billion in equity in the first six months.
Operating expenses, on the other, slightly increased by 9 percent to P23.8 billion that helped secure total capital-adequacy ratio at 16 percent, which is over the 12-percent requirement. Capital from Common Equity Tier 1 ratio, which includes shares and retained earnings, also surpassed the 7.5-percent requirement at 13 percent.
Thus, total assets reached a new record high at P2.0 trillion.
“Metrobank is very optimistic about the growth prospects of the economy. Our strong capital position and healthy balance sheet allow us to continuously support the business needs of our customers,” Gamboa said.