BDO Unibank Inc., the banking arm of tycoon Henry Sy, sustained its position as the country’s largest lender as total assets hit nearly P2 trillion as of end-March.
Data from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed BDO had total resources of P1.986 trillion as of end-March, or P610 billion more than the second-placer Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co.’s P1.375 trillion.
Bank of the Philippine Islands was dislodged from the third place by state-run Land Bank of the Philippines. LandBank had total assets of P1.285 trillion, or P36.95 billion more than BPI’s P1.248 trillion.
Completing the top 10 universal and commercial banks are Philippine National Bank with total assets of P647.057 billion; Security Bank Corp., P516.59 billion; Development Bank of the Philippines, P483.1 billion; China Banking Corp., P470.32 billion; Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., P408.26 billion; and Union Bank of the Philippines, P355.38 billion.
BDO also had the highest capital of P203.201 billion, followed by Metrobank with P185.480 billion, BPI with P151.023 billion, PNB with P99.479 billion and LandBank with P90.116 billion.
BDO’s net profit in the first quarter declined 11 percent to P5.5 billion from P6.1 billion a year ago on lower trading and foreign exchange gains. The bank’s trading and FX gains in the first three months fell 58 percent to P1.5 billion from P3.4 billion last year.
BDO is aiming a minimal 4-percent growth in net income to P26 billion in 2016 from P25 billion a year ago.
BDO has one of the largest distribution networks, with more than 1,000 operating branches and over 3,000 automated teller machines nationwide. It also has a branch in Hong Kong as well as 27 overseas remittance and representative offices in Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East.
Bangko Sentral said the Philippine banking system remained strong, as balance sheets were marked by a sustained growth in assets and deposits.
Banks’ total deposits as of end-January 2016 stood at P7.3 trillion, up by 11.3 percent or P700 billion from the same period a year ago. The growth in deposits outpaced the 8.9-percent expansion posted in the previous quarter.
Demand, savings, and time deposits expanded by 17.4 percent, 13.7 percent, and 1.5 percent, respectively. Foreign currency deposits owned by residents grew 12.5 percent to P1.5 trillion.