RIZAL Commercial Banking Corp., the ninth-largest lender in terms of assets, will increase its capital base, especially common shares, to 2.6 billion from 1.4 billion with a par value of P10 apiece.
The bank said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Tuesday its board of directors approved the increase at the regular meeting on Nov. 27, 2017.
RCBC said the board also approved the amendment of the seventh article of the articles of incorporation to reflect the increase of the authorized common shares to 2.6 billion.
The bank will hold a special meeting on Jan. 29, 2018 to get the stockholders’ approval of the increase in authorized capital stock and the corresponding amendment to the articles of incorporation.
RCBC’s consolidated net income declined 2.8 percent to P3.4 billion in the first nine months from P3.5 billion year-on-year.
But net income in the third quarter jumped 19 percent to P1.1 billion from P893 million on year due to stronger core business led by a 19-percent growth in net interest profit and the 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.
Annualized net interest margin remained strong at 4.30 percent, 24 basis points improvement from 4.06 percent recorded in the full of 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, up 11 percent year-on-year. The growth was driven by the bank’s vibrant lending business with total customer loan portfolio expanding 17 percent to P338 billion. All market segments sustained their growth with a 15-percent expansion in corporate loans, 34 percent in SME Loans, 13 percent in consumer loans and 28 percent in credit card receivables.
Rizal MicroBank, the micro-finance arm of RCBC that provides the financing requirements of micro and small enterprises, increased its outstanding loan portfolio by 42 percent on year, through efforts to enhance its current loan products responsive to the needs of its mandated market segments.
Total gross income reached P18.6 billion with total other operating profit reaching P5.4 billion or 29 percent of gross income. Fees and commissions income, which includes card related fees”•both credit and debit cards, trust fees, and fees on investment banking and loans, accounted for 14 percent of the total gross income.
Total operating expenses were flat year-on-year at P13 billion. The bank pursued the expansion of its distribution network by selectively opening 26 branches and deploying 64 ATMs mainly in support of a strategy to broaden customer reach and enhance banking convenience. This brought the consolidated network to 503 branches and 1,539 ATMs, resulting in a 3.06 branch-to-ATM ratio, one of the highest in the industry.
