BankCom earnings climb 8% to P3.02 billion

MANILA, Philippines — Bank of Commerce (BankCom), the banking arm of conglomerate San Miguel Corp., reported a net income of P3.02 billion in 2024, driven by higher interest earnings from loans and investments.

The bank’s latest financial statement showed that its net income rose by 7.9 percent from P2.8 billion in 2023.

This translated to a return on equity of 9.44 percent, slightly lower than 9.52 percent in 2023, while return on assets stood at 1.22 percent, down from 1.25 percent the previous year.

Net interest income went up by 9.8 percent to P9.11 billion from P8.3 billion the previous year, fueled by higher loan volumes and investment securities income.

Total interest income increased by 12 percent to P13.16 billion in 2024 from P11.76 billion in 2023, as BankCom expanded its lending portfolio and saw stronger returns on investments.

Loans and receivables remained the primary revenue driver, generating P9.43 billion in interest income, up by 14.4 percent from P8.24 billion.

Interest expenses, however, also climbed by 16.7 percent to P4.05 billion from P3.47 billion as funding costs increased due to higher deposit rates.

Meanwhile, non-interest income, which includes service fees, foreign exchange gains and trading income, reached P1.64 billion.

The bank set aside P139.4 million for credit and impairment losses, higher than the P78.8 million allocated in 2023. Despite this, the bank’s non-performing loans ratio improved to 1.25 percent from 1.54 percent in 2023.

As of end-2024, the bank’s total assets grew to P265.44 billion, 14.6 percent higher than the P231.67 billion in 2023, driven by higher loans, investments, and cash holdings.