Philippine Business Bank profits down 2% in 9 months

MANILA, Philippines - Earnings of the Philippine Business Bank (PBB) declined two percent in the first nine months on the back of higher provisioning for soured loans.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), PBB booked a net income of P471.77 million from January to September, P9.41 million  lower compared to the P481.18 million it earned in the same period last year.

Data showed interest income from loans and other receivables as well as investment and trading securities increased 13 percent to P2.35 billion in the first nine months from P2.08 billion in the same period last year.

Interest expense for deposit liabilities and bills payable jumped 28.4 percent to P533.32 million from P431.01 million, resulting in an 8.5 percent increase in net interest income to P1.79 billion from P1.65 billion.

Non-interest income including trading gains, service charges as well as fees and commissions rose 10.9 percent to P219.31 million from P197.89 million.

The bank recorded a trading gain of P74.32 million in the first nine months, reversing the P30.72 million losses registered in the same period last year.

PBB president and chief executive officer Roland Avante said the bank’s recurring net income went up 14.1 percent to P513.4 million from P449.7 million, while its core income stood at P691.5 million or equivalent to last year’s P690.1 million.

Avante said PBB booked a one-time gain of P72.5 million in the third quarter of last year.

He added the bank’s earnings in the first nine months of the year already included the earnings of Insular Savers Bank.

Avante explained the bank’s performance in light of the stiff competition industry is indicative of PBB’s maturation as a financial institution.

The bank reported impairment losses almost doubled to P90.92 million in the first nine months from P49 million in the same period last year.

PBB spent P518.2 million to take over Insular Savers Bank. It also spent P63.9 million for the acquisition of Bataan Savings and Loan Inc. and another P15 million to buy Cavite-based Rural Bank of Kawit.