State-run Land Bank of the Philippines, the third-largest lender in terms of assets, said Tuesday net income in 2016 rose 2 percent to P13.6 billion from P13.3 billion in 2015.
The bank said in a statement the 2016 performance translated into a return on equity of 16.4 percent, above the industry average of 9.97 percent.
“We are grateful to close the year with a strong and solid performance which enables us to further expand our services, reach and support to our mandated and priority sectors, particularly the farmers and fishers,” LandBank president and chief executive Alex Buenaventura said in a statement.
Assets increased 17 percent to P1.4 trillion as of end-2016 from P1.2 trillion a year ago. This was primarily driven by an 18-percent growth in deposits which rose to P1.24 trillion from P1.05 trillion, on the back of significant increase in private deposits.
Capital increased 7 percent to P85.4 billion from P80 billion in 2015.
Land Bank said it remained the biggest credit provider to small farmers and fishers, local government units, microenterprises and SMEs.
LandBank was named Best Agribusiness Bank in the Philippines by London-based Global Banking & Finance Review Magazine in 2016 for its financing programs that contributed to improving agricultural productivity and for initiatives to promote financial inclusion.