China Banking Corporation saw its net income from January to June 2024 rise to a record P11.4 billion, up 6 percent compared to the same period last year on the back of stronger core lending and deposit-taking activities.

This translated to a return on equity of 15.1 percent and a return on assets of 1.5 percent, still among the highest in the industry.

“Our business performance continued to improve during the first half of the year,” CBC President & Chief Executive Officer Romeo D. Uyan Jr. said.

“The continued growth of our core lending and deposit taking businesses, combined with stable asset credit quality and controlled operating costs, allowed us to register our highest 1st half net income to date, solidifying our position as one of the top four banks in the country.”

Net interest income hit P30.4 billion, up 19 percent year-on-year as higher interest income offset the rise in interest expense, resulting to a 25-basis point improvement in net interest margin to 4.4 percent.

Credit quality improved amid significant loan expansion, with a better-than-industry non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of 1.9 percent. CBC booked lower credit provisions at P737 million but NPL coverage remained above industry at 141 percent.

Operating expenses went up by 5 percent to P14.1 billion mainly on higher volume-related taxes. Cost-to-income ratio slightly improved to 49 percent.

CBC is still the country’s fourth largest private universal bank, with total assets of P1.5 trillion, up 12 percent.

Gross loans increased by 10 percent to P817 billion on strong demand across market segments. Consumer loans, in particular, which accounted for a quarter of the bank’s total loan portfolio, increased by 25 percent. Meanwhile, deposits grew faster than the industry average to P1.3 trillion, up 14 percent.