Asia United Bank, the financial arm of the Rebisco Group, said Wednesday net income climbed 57 percent in the first nine months to P4.6 billion from P2.9 billion a year ago and surpassed its pre-pandemic performance.
The bank said in a statement the cumulative net profit was 3.8 percent higher than its pre-pandemic net income of P4.4 billion.
It also translated into a return on assets of 1.9 percent and a return on equity of 16.4 percent.
The bank said it remained consistent in terms of operational efficiency with only a 3-percent increase in operational expenses from P4.1 billion, resulting in a cost-to-income ratio of 38.6 percent, an improvement from 44 percent a year ago.
Net interest income went up by 14 percent to P9.3 billion, while interest expense decreased by 9 percent to P1.2 billion, year-on-year.
Low-cost current account/savings account deposits reached P214 billion as of end-September, or 5 percent higher than in the same period last year.
“Since AUB started at the height of the 1997 financial crisis, it has consistently been among the top five publicly listed local banks in the country that have posted healthy profitability ratios. We are extremely pleased to have beaten our pre-pandemic performance as we celebrate our 25th anniversary,” AUB president Manuel Gomez said.
Other operating income increased 40 percent to P1.6 billion, fueled by an 850-percent surge in trading and securities gain to P164.2 million and a 100-percent rise in foreign exchange gain to P345.2 million.
AUB remains one of the top 20 banks in the Philippines with an asset size of P317.8 billion as of Sept. 30. Total equity increased 3 percent to P38.0 billion, resulting in a common equity tier 1 ratio of 14.04 percent and a capital adequacy ratio of 14.64 percent, both above the regulatory requirements.