China Banking Corp. said Thursday its net income grew six percent year-on-year to a record P11.4 billion in the first half of 2024, boosted by stronger core lending and deposit-taking activities.
This translated into a return on equity of 15.1 percent and a return on assets of 1.5 percent, China Bank said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.
“Our business performance continued to improve during the first half of the year,” China Bank president and chief executive Romeo Uyan Jr. said.
“The continued growth of our core lending and deposit taking businesses, combined with stable asset credit quality and controlled operating costs, allowed us to register our highest 1st half net income to date, solidifying our position as one of the top four banks in the country,” he said.
The bank’s net interest income hit P30.4 billion, up 19 percent year-on-year as higher interest income offset the rise in interest expense. This resulted in a 25-basis point improvement in net interest margin to 4.4 percent.
Its non-performing loan (NPL) ratio was at 1.9 percent as the credit provisions were lower at P737 million. NPL coverage remained at 141 percent.
Operating expenses went up by 5 percent to P14.1 billion, on higher volume-related taxes while cost-to-income ratio slightly improved to 49 percent.
ChinaBank remained the country’s fourth largest private universal bank, with total assets of P1.5 trillion as of end-June, representing a 12-percent year-on-year growth.
Gross loans increased 10 percent to P817 billion on strong demand across market segments. Consumer loans, which accounted for a quarter of the bank’s total loan portfolio, increased 25 percent.
Deposits grew 14 percent to P1.3 trillion. Total assets reached P1.5 trillion, up 14 percent from a year ago.
