BSP profit surges to P105 billion

MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) earned P105.6 billion from January to August, nearly five times higher than the P22.9 billion in the same period a year ago, amid higher revenues and lower spending.

Preliminary data showed the total revenue of the central bank, comprising interest income on foreign investments, government securities and Treasury bonds, surged by 57.6 percent to P220.2 billion from P139.7 billion a year ago.

During the eight-month period, the BSP’s interest earnings rose by 24.9 percent to P159.3 billion from P127.5 billion.

Miscellaneous activities such as trading gains or losses, fees, penalties and other operating income, among others, jumped by five times to P60.9 billion from last year’s gains amounting to P12.2 billion.

On the other hand, the total expenses of the central bank eased by 10.8 percent to P143.2 billion from P160.5 billion as interest expenses reached P109.67 billion, 2.5 times last year’s P44.47 billion.

The BSP also reported a 34.5-percent decrease in gains from foreign exchange fluctuations during the eight-month period to P28.6 billion versus a year-ago level of P43.7 billion.

The BSP books gains or losses from fluctuations in foreign exchange rates on matured, sold, paid and exchanged or settled foreign exchange assets and liabilities. It participates in the foreign exchange market to temper the sharp fluctuations in the exchange rate.

Separate central bank data showed that total assets held by the BSP rose by 4.6 percent to P7.77 trillion from P7.43 trillion a year ago. Liabilities went up by 3.2 percent to P7.52 trillion from P7.29 trillion previously.

The BSP’s net worth stood at P246.2 billion as of August, rising by 79.1 percent from last year’s P137.5 billion.

Based on the 2023 Annual Report of the BSP, the central bank registered a net income of P25.5 billion last year, 59.9 percent lower than the P63.7 billion seen in 2022 due to significant increases in interest expenses on both local and foreign currency financial liabilities.

Despite the drop in net income, the BSP’s total revenue rose by 26.6 percent to P212.8 billion in 2023 from P168.1 billion in the previous year.

The growth in revenue was mainly due to the higher interest earned from international reserves, particularly foreign securities and foreign securities under agreements to resell.