Solid core business turnover sustained the profitability of Philippine National Bank (PNB) in 2024, delivering a 10.39 percent return on equity from 9.95 percent year-on-year.
The lender said in a statement on Wednesday it posted P21.2 billion in consolidated net income last year, up 18 percent from P18 billion in 2023.
Led by billionaire entrepreneur Lucio Tan, the bank said 83 percent of total earnings came from net interest income which surpassed its year-earlier level by 11 percent to P49.3 billion.
The double-digit expansion was propelled by a 13 percent growth in interest income arising from increased lending and investment activities.
PNB President Florido P. Casuela said the 2024 bottom line was driven by solid core income.
“In particular, we were successful in increasing our net interest margin supported by broad based loan expansion as well as efficient deployment of funds,”he said.
“The bank’s performance indicates that our strategic initiatives are gaining traction that will solidify our market position among the leading banks,” Casuel added.
Minus the significant one-off gains from the sale of foreclosed assets in 2023, the bank’s non-core income would have posted a strong growth of 31 percent year-on-year.
While lower than in 2023, the bank continues to aggressively dispose foreclosed assets in 2024 that contributed P2.0 billion to its bottom line.
By the end of 2024, the bank said net interest margin widened to 4.5 percent compared with 4.23 percent a year earlier.
The bank’s fee-based business income went up 4 percent to P5.5 billion which is attributed to higher volume of transactions in loans, credit cards, deposits, and trade.
Despite the thinner volatility and liquidity in the foreign exchange market last year, PNB said trading and foreign exchange gains of P1.8 billion, which increased 3 percent, supplemented its core income growth.
Operating expenses were prudently managed, rising 4 percent to P29.6 billion, while its cost efficiency ratio was maintained at 49.6 percent.
PNB’s total assets stood at P1.3 trillion as of Dec. 31, 2024, up 4 percent year-on-year, buoyed by higher loans and wider investment portfolio.
Its consolidated net income last year raised its total equity to P216.6 billion, up 13 percent from a year earlier.
The result was a stronger Common Equity Tier 1 Ratio and Capital Adequacy Ratio of 19.21 percent and 20.10 percent, respectively, above the minimum regulatory requirements.
