BDO Unibank Inc. (BDO) said it has set aside P20 billion in additional provisions after a comprehensive review of the loan portfolio
Nestor Tan, BDO president, said this move is “anticipatory in nature.”
“The additional provisions are meant to safeguard our balance sheet and will not impair our capital which is strong enough to withstand near-term shocks,” Tan said.
“We are not yet experiencing losses,” said Tan, adding the the bank remains strong and sound amid the negative impact of the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Speaking during the bank’s shareholders meeting, Tan said with the biggest asset in the Philippines made adjustments to its operations, putting in place safety measures as well as “preemptive provisioning to safeguard the balance sheet” amid the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting enhanced community quarantine.
Tan said BDO’ capital position remains strong despite the additional provisions, and that BDO intends to continue with its regular quarterly dividends.
BDO earlier paid out P0.30 per share cash dividend on common shares for the first quarter of the year and declared the same for the second quarter 2020 payable on June 29, 2020 to all stockholders of record as of June 17, 2020.
BDO closed the first quarter of the year with profit of P8.8 billion.
