Chinabank booked record earnings from January to September 2024 on the back of sustained strong growth from core businesses.
Net income reached P18.4 billion in the first nine months, up 13 percent year-on-year, translating to a return on equity of 15.7 percent and return on assets of 1.6 percent—still among the highest in the industry.
“This record performance is the result of the hard work of our employees, the continued execution of our strategies, and our steadfast focus on the needs of our customers,” CBC President & Chief Executive Officer Romeo D. Uyan Jr. said.
The bank’s total operating income rose 14 percent year-on-year to P46.3 billion, driven by higher interest income from loans, securities and other investments, coupled with growth in transaction-based income. Net interest margin improved to 4.4 percent.
As it responded positively but prudently to companies’ heightened business appetite and consumers’ greater demand for credit, CBC’s loan portfolio hit P871.6 billion, up 14 percent as both business and consumer lending segments grew. Asset quality improved, with non-performing loans (NPL) ratio easing to 1.8 percent during the period.
Due to the bank’s conservative provisioning stance, credit provisions were hiked by 15 percent to P1.5 billion resulting in NPL cover of 141 percent, higher than the industry average.
Despite bigger volume-related taxes, growth of operating expenses was controlled at 9 percent to P22.0 billion on careful spending. Cost-to-income ratio was at 48 percent.
