RIZAL Commercial Banking Corp., the ninth-largest lender in terms of assets, said consolidated net income in the first nine months declined 2.8 percent to P3.4 billion from P3.5 billion a year ago.
RCBC said in a statement net income in the third quarter, however, rose 19 percent to P1.1 billion from P893 million year-on-year due to stronger core business led by a 19-percent growth in net interest income and 14-percent expansion in fee-based income.
Bank president Gil Buenaventura said the nine-months’ results remained encouraging, as the increase in CASA deposits and growth in total loan portfolio helped fuel the responsiveness of its products to the market demand.
“We are also encouraged by the response to the new corporate branding campaign that has provided the bank a vehicle to be heard by customers above the clutter of today’s evolving digital landscape”, he said.
Annualized net interest margin remained strong at 4.30 percent, 24 basis points improvement from 4.06 percent recorded in full year 2016. Annualized return on equity and return on assets stood at 7.16 percent and 0.87 percent, respectively.
Net interest income in the first nine months reached P13.1 billion with 11-percent growth year-on-year. This was driven by the bank’s vibrant lending business with total customer loan portfolio expanding by 17 percent to P338 billion.
All market segments sustained their growth with 15 percent growth in corporate loans, 34 percent growth in SME Loans, 13 percent growth in consumer loans and 28-percent growth in credit card receivables.
Rizal MicroBank, the microfinance arm of the bank that provides financing requirements for micro and small enterprises, increased its outstanding loan portfolio by 42 percent year on year, through efforts to enhance current loan products.
Gross income reached P18.6 billion with total other operating income hitting P5.4 billion or 29 percent of gross income. Fees and commissions income, which include card related fees—both credit and debit cards, trust fees, and fees on investment banking and loans—accounted for 14 percent of total gross income.