RIZAL Commercial Banking Corp., the eighth largest bank, posted a 15-percent increase in unaudited consolidated net income in 2015 to P5.1 billion from P4.4 billion a year ago.
RCBC president and chief executive Lorenzo Tan said in a statement the bank demonstrated its resilience last year.
“… Steadily, the bank has bolstered its core businesses by deliberately focusing on recurring and less cyclical sources of revenue. The bank’s combined net interest income and fee-based income now comprise 87 percent of gross income,” Tan said.
“We will continue to focus on the quality of our earnings and growth as we continue to face a more challenging regulatory, interest rate, and global economic environment in 2016,” Tan said.
Net interest income reached P15.6 billion, up 4 percent from P15 billion in 2014. Net interest margin stood at 4.15 percent to remain one of the highest in the sector despite the competition and challenging market conditions.
The bank continued to build up its core lending as average loan volume,
excluding interbank loans, expanded 18 percent, with all market segments showing consistent growth.
Average loan volume of the corporate segment grew 18 percent, consumer by 17 percent, and SME by 24 percent. Microfinance lending through Rizal Microbank also advanced with loan disbursements expanding 32 percent and outstanding loan portfolio increasing by 85 percent.
The bank managed to improve further its asset quality with a consolidated net NPL ratio of 0.79 percent, now at its record lowest even in the midst of robust expansion in loans. Consolidated NPL cover was at 101.65 percent. Parent bank’s net NPL Ratio remained low at 0.26 percent while parent bank NPL cover stood at 161.73 percent.
Accounting for 17 percent of gross income, total fee-based income rose
20 percent to P3.7 billion: investment banking-related fees increased 154 percent, bancassurance fees grew 102 percent, fees related to loan transactions climbed 51 percent, and prepaid card fees improved 34 percent.
Total operating expenses were managed and controlled, increasing 5 percent to P15 billion.
Total deposits as of end-2015 expanded P27 billion to P342.4 billion. Low-cost CASA deposit level increased P26 billion to P222.5 billion leading to CASA-to-total deposits ratio of 65 percent, an all-time high and up from 62.2 percent as of end-2014.
Total consolidated resources grew 13 percent to P516.6 billion, while net loans excluding interbank loans expanded 15 percent to P299.1 billion. Capital funds reached P58.4 billion, up 10 percent.
The increase in capital was mainly driven by the 20-percent strategic investment of Cathay Life Insurance Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cathay Financial Holding Co. Ltd., in April 2015. The parent is the largest publicly-listed financial holding company in Taiwan.
Capital adequacy ratio stood at 15.72 percent, well above the minimum requirement of 10 percent imposed by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, while common equity Tier 1 ratio of 12.55 percent also exceeded the minimum of 8.50 percent.