China Bank income up 14.8% to P1.39 B

MANILA, Philippines - China Banking Corp. reported a 14.8 percent increase in net earnings in the first three months of 2016 to P1.39 billion from P1.21 billion in the same period last year.

China Bank president and chief executive officer Ricardo R. Chua attributed the growth in earnings to steady expansion of its core businesses and a 27-percent increase in non-interest revenues.

Net revenues before operating expenses grew 10 percent to P5.27 billion, with net interest revenues up six percent to P3.92 billion, driven by the 11-percent growth in loan portfolio.

Non-interest revenues rose 27 percent to P1.35 billion, boosted by significantly higher trading gains to P466 million from P233 million, a 35-percent increase in trust fees, and income from sales of acquired assets.

Loan growth of 11 percent, equivalent to P318 billion, is however below the industry trend of 68 percent.

Consolidated consumer loan portfolio grew 23 percent, with housing loans up 24 percent and auto loans up 18 percent.

Thrift bank subsidiary China Bank Savings reported consumer portfolio at a robust 31-percent growth in housing loans and 24-percent growth in auto loans, while it starts to grow its personal loans portfolio with focus on teachers’ loans.

The growth in total operating expenses was manageable at 8.9 percent to P3.6 billion, even as China Bank continued its network expansion and embarked on new product initiatives.

Chua said its strategic thrusts of sustaining core businesses and strengthening fee-based businesses, while expanding its distribution network, is bearing fruit.