Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., the second-largest bank in terms of assets, said net income in 2015 fell 7 percent to P18.6 billion from P20.1 billion in 2014, on lower trading gains.
“We expected 2015 to be another challenging year for the banking industry. Both loans and deposits growth showed a slowdown, while market conditions limited trading opportunities. Under this scenario, our priority was to continue supporting our clients in their commercial and retail needs, as well as generating low cost deposits and fee-based income” Metrobank president Fabian Dee said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Wednesday.
“Our investments in improving client coverage, automation and system enhancements coupled with better internal synergy helped mitigate industry challenges. We also increased capital early last year to ensure we had the financial strength to take on growth opportunities and to help us withstand potential external and market shocks” Dee said.
Total resources hit a record P1.8 trillion last year. Following the P32-billion stock rights offer in April 2015, Metrobank’s Basel 3 total capital adequacy ratio, a measure of financial strength, remained above the regulatory limit at 17.75 percent, with common equity Tier 1 at 14.25 percent.
“Metrobank was able to execute on its strategy and as a result, produced double-digit growth in loans and current and savings account and maintained relatively stable spreads despite the persistent strong competitive pressure,” the bank said.
The bank said current and savings accounts rose 18 percent and continued to provide the bank with stable low cost funding to fuel its sustained loan expansion. Total deposits stood at P1.3 trillion, with a Casa ratio of 56 percent.
Meanwhile, Philippine Savings Bank, the thrift bank arm of the Metrobank Group, reported a full-year net income of P2.35 billion in 2015, buoyed by the growth of core businesses. This translated into a return-on-average equity of 12.7 percent.
“2015 proved to be a challenging year for the bank, but we continued to gain momentum in our core businesses as our net interest margins and fees from our consumer loans demonstrated double-digit growth,” said PSBank president Vicente Cuna Jr.
“Our strategy is aimed at expanding our customer base by providing clients the best customer experience at every encounter, at every channel. This strategy has brought us to where we are today and I am confident that the same strategy will solidify our growth in the coming years,” he said.
The bank’s total loan portfolio rose to P116 billion propelled by the growth of its auto and mortgage lending businesses, which posted a combined annual increase of 24 percent. This was complemented by a 15-percent jump to P134 billion in total deposits, with low cost funds climbing by 23 percent.
PSBank’s total assets expanded 16 percent to P169 billion. The bank’s distribution network stood at 248 branches and 614 automated teller machine units nationwide.