Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co.’s (Metrobank) net income rose by 34.1 percent to P20.9 billion in the first semester of 2023 from a year ago supported by the bank’s asset expansion, higher margins, and healthy fee income growth as it kept its asset quality stable.
This translated to a 12.9 percent return on equity, higher than the 10.0 percent recorded in the same period last year.
In the second quarter alone, the bank posted a 37.1 percent growth in earnings to P10.4 billion from the same period last year.
“Our core businesses continued to grow and benefit from our strong balance sheet,” said Metrobank President Fabian Dee.
“As the economy further expands, we see more market opportunities that will keep our upward momentum and sustain our efforts to better serve our customers,” he added.
The bank’s net interest income surged by 27.0 percent to P50.6 billion, on the back of a 50-basis point increase in net interest margin to 3.9 percent. Gross loans climbed by 8.6 percent year-on-year, driven by a 7.2 percent rise in commercial loans and 14.1 percent expansion in consumer loans. Net credit card receivables surged by 28.8 percent while auto loans grew by 17.5 percent, sustaining the growth momentum in the consumer segment.
Meanwhile, total deposits grew by 9.3 percent to P2.3 trillion from a year ago, of which low-cost Current and Savings Accounts (CASA) accounted for 62.2 percent.
Trading and foreign exchange gains stood at P3.1 billion, while fee income rose by 10.2 percent to P8.1 billion.
