CENTRAL bankers rarely show their sporting side, especially when they report on the state of an industry whose first half profitability grew by 18.6 percent to P153.9 billion.

The number attests to the resiliency of local banks in the face of a global economic downturn that, in golfing terms, “slowed the economy on the greens,” the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Wednesday.

It’s considered view, however, is that the dark clouds of the 2008 subprime credit crisis is thinning steadily, making less difficult “the challenging course of the game.”

“If the performance of the first half of 2009 can speak for what lies ahead, the system has achieved a ‘new normal’ and market players can look forward to a great round of golf. With sheer commitment to reforms and sound banking practices, the hole-in-one goal of greater financial stability may not be that elusive after all,” the BSP said in summing up developments during the period.

In this period, Philippine banks showed steady asset expansion, double-digit credit growth, a growing deposit base, had ample liquidity and enjoyed continuing improvement in overall asset quality and above-standard solvency ratios.

The banks generated bigger gains as consequence of a stronger peso that alone contributed P28.7 billion more to their bottom lines, the BSP said.

Because of this and other streams of income, the banks’ net profits soared by 32.6 percent to P33.3 billion, versus year-ago contraction in net profits by 25.4 percent to only P25.1 billion.

The banks posted net profits totaling only P41.5 billion in 2008, sharply lower than 2007 net profits of P62.9 billion.

Total assets in the first six months this year hit P5.77 trillion versus year-ago figure of only P5.32 trillion or already higher that full-year profits of only P5.67 trillion in 2008.

Against this positive backdrop, the BSP said “some course keeping tasks remain to get everything into full swing.”

For instance, it said there is a need to ensure the banks have adequate capital buffer to ride out potential losses in their operations.

This means compelling banks to provide buffer capital for risks not captured in the current capital-adequacy framework, such as risks associated with the concentration of loans on certain sectors.

The banks are also urged to sell their soured asset holdings because the slowing local economy can weaken their balance sheets and likely push loan rates higher down the line.

There is also the need to keep the banks liquid, enhanced recently by the reduction in deposit reserves.

Regulatory issuances have also been deliberately crafted with financial inclusion in mind, by bringing as much of the Filipino population into or within the realm of banks and the services they extend as a matter of course.

This was achieved by e-banking policies and technology platforms that permit previously unbanked Filipinos in rural areas to obtain financial services and products that only urban-based citizens have, the BSP said.