Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., the 10th-largest lender in terms of assets, said Tuesday net income in 2018 was flat at P4.3 billion.
The bank said in a statement it sustained core business growth with net interest income increasing by 14 percent to P20.5 billion in 2018, accounting for 77 percent of the total gross profit.
Excluding non-recurring income (trading gains), core income rose 26 percent from the previous year, led by a double-digit growth in net interest income by 14 percent and fee-based profit by 7 percent.
The bank’s combined net interest and fee-based income now comprise 91 percent of the gross income.
“The quality of core earnings continued to improve with robust growth in net interest income and fee income. The bank’s balance sheet position is now stronger than ever. The success of the stock rights offering is just an affirmation of RCBC’s viability and long-term growth prospect,” RCBC president and chief executive Gil Buenaventura said.
The bank’s capital position at P81.4 billion remained robust and well above the minimum regulatory requirement with a CAR of 16.13 percent and CET1 Ratio of 13.38 percent.
Strong accrual income comes mainly from customer loans with net loans and receivables expanding 12 percent to P398.3 billion. All strategic segments sustained their growth.
Gross income reached P26.5 billion with total non-interest income reaching P6.1 billion or 23 percent of gross income. Fee-based income, which includes card related fees—both credit and debit cards—trust fees, and charges on investment banking and loans, accounted for 14 percent of the gross income.
The bank continued to strengthen its balance sheet ending the year with total assets of P644.8 billion, up 16 percent year-on-year. The assets were principally funded by the increases in deposits, bonds payable, and proceeds from stock rights offerings.
Total deposits grew P35 billion year-on-year to P423.4 billion. CASA reached P230.3 billion as of end-December 2018. Julito G. Rada
