PSBank expects net income to grow by 15% this year

PSBank, the thrift banking unit of financial services giant Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank), is eyeing a 15-percent growth in net income this year, according to a high-ranking company official.

PSBank senior vice-president and chief finance officer Perfecto Ramon Dimayuga Jr. said the company’s growth will be driven by sustained gains in consumer loans and increased lending to the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector.

PSBank posted  a net income of P1.018 billion in 2007, up 24 percent from the P818.78 million reported a year earlier.

“There has been a continued build-up of the bank’s total loan portfolio, rising 13 percent to P36.42 billion,”  Dimayuga said.

Dimayuga said the bank funded its loans and investments through deposits, which rose 12 percent to P57.85 billion from only P51.44 billion in 2006.

Return on average equity improved to 14.81 percent on 2007 from 13.13 percent with the increase in the bank’s net income.

On the other hand, PSBank’s capital adequacy ratio (CAR) fell to 15.7 percent  from 19.41 percent in the previous year with the implementation of Basel II, which require banks to include market and operational risks in the CAR computation.

Total interest expense slightly declined by four percent to P2.29 billion while other  operating income recorded a  growth of 39 percent to P1.33 billion as the bank continued to take advantage of good opportunities in its bond trading activities. 

During the year, PSBank launched a 24-hour Siguraduhan campaign for Auto Loans, which remains unmatched for auto loan approvals in the market.

PSBank likewise strengthened the TGIF program which guarantees five-day turnaround time for credit decisions on mortgage applications.

Aside from this, PSBank introduced the enhanced money card, the first  and only collateral free personal loan in an ATM card with a revolving  line and a fixed term loan facility.

PSBank said its operating expenses increased by 26 percent as it  availed of the government’s tax amnesty program under RA 9498. Without  this additional payment, the increase would have been limited to 14  percent with continued investments in technology, launch of its Remote  Banking facility and branch expansion in 2007.

As of end-December last year, PSBank’s total network reached 163  compared with only 150 in 2006, while its ATMs increased to 165 nationwide from 152 a year ago. 

To complement its branch network, PSBank remote banking was launched last year to provide its clients an alternative channel from which they  can view their account information, pay bills, transfer funds, order checkbooks, manage deposit accounts and apply for loans in a secure internet environment. 

PSbank is the country’s first publicly-listed thrift bank catering mainly to the retail and consumer markets and offers a wide range of products and services such as deposits, loans, treasury and trust.  As of end-December 2007, the bank had 163 and 150 branches, respectively.