Metrobank profit up 5% to P13.2 B in January-September

MANILA, Philippines — The net income of Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company climbed five percent in the first nine months as it continued to make strides in its core banking business while maintaining a single-digit increase in expenses.

The country’s second largest bank owned by taipan George SK Ty recorded a net profit of P13.2 billion from January to September, about P600 million higher than the P12.6 billion registered in the same period last year.

Metrobank president Fabian Dee said the bank’s core earnings results are moving ahead of plans.

“We are also continuously improving our operations and have made the necessary enhancements to our internal processes to ensure that we become an even stronger institution. We would like to thank our customers for their support as we move forward and continue to deliver premium customer experience to them,” Dee said.

The bank sustained the momentum in its loan expansion and low-cost deposits growth. It booked a 20 percent growth in net loans and receivables to P1.2 trillion while deposits went up 15 percent to P1.5 trillion.

The commercial segment was again at the forefront of this growth as Metrobank continued to provide funding to both corporate and middle market clients in support of the economy.

With the strong performance in its balance sheet expansion, net interest margin continued to improve at 3.8 percent mainly coming from the loan expansion in target segments.

Metrobank’s net interest income increased 16 percent to P62.9 billion in the first nine months.

Non-interest income inched up 1.1 percent to P17.6 billion from P17.4 billion as service fees and commissions including income from trust operations jumped 18.2 percent to P9.1 billion.

Metrobank is the country’s second largest bank in terms of assets. It has 958 branches and 2,289 ATMs nationwide as well as 32 foreign branches, subsidiaries, and representative offices.