Bank of Commerce posts P258-M net profit in 1st 9 months

The Bank of Commerce registered an unaudited net income of P257.9 million in the first nine months this year, just a little over P60-million short of its full-year target.

Bank officials have set a net income target of P320 million for 2002 after registering a loss of P145.79 million last year. In 2000, the bank posted net earning of P21.44 million. The bank set aside P400 million for loan-loss provisioning which reduced its net earnings.

"The provisioning of P400 million is part of the bank’s being conservative in loan-loss provisioning," Raul B. de Mesa, president and chief executive officer of the Bank of Commerce said earlier.

Net interest income rose to P638.2 million up by 74.2 percent from the P366.4 million in the same period last year. Apart from the upsurge in business volumes, the rise in funds-based revenes could be traced to a rebound in interest spreads.

Fee-based income soared to P554.5 million, up by 148.8 percent ffrom P222 million last year.

With the total consolidation of Traders Royal Bank branches last July, the commercial bank recorded an expansion in its funding or deposit base to P26.7 billion this year, or roughly 86.7 percent better than the year ago figures of P14.2 billion.

Total loans grew 46.6 percent from P9.764 billion in the first nine months last year to P14.31 billion this year.

For the remaining part of the year, the bank is vigorously pursuing the implementation of its new integrated banking system. To date, all branches of the former Pan Asia Bank, which were acquired in 2000, have been converted to the new system.

To compliment these investments in its retail banking system, the bank also acquired a new treasury system that would improve the handling of transactions that surged 10 fold during 2002. With its enhanced delivery channels, the bank projects another robust growth in deposits and income next year.