Equitable PCI Bank reports P338.5-M net income in 1st half

Equitable PCI Bank reported a net income of P338.5 million in the first semester this year buoyed by improved performance in the second quarter of the year.

"Financing results for the first semester are much better than originally targeted, reflecting gains from the bank’s efforts to strengthen its balance sheet," Equitable PCIBank president and chief executive officer Rene J. Buenaventura said in a press statement.

Net profit from April to June grew to P217.9 million compared to the P120.6 million in the first three months of 2002. Full year target in terms of net income was placed at P300 million.

Net loans grew by five percent while its non-performing loans (NPLs) dropped from 20 percent to 18 percent of total loans. "The lower bad debt ratio is in mark contrast to the trend of rising NPLs in some other banks," Buenaventura boosted.

Equitable PCIBank total assets grew 4.4 percent to P261 billion while trust assets grew by 19.9 percent to P53.7 billion. Total deposits reached P145 billion.

Buenaventura said the bank is aiming for a 320-percent growth in net earnings this year.

Buenaventura became the bank’s third president and CEO in a span of just 10 months after chief Wilfredo V. Vergara and Deogracias Vistan.

The new bank president earlier made a projection of P500 million in net income this year as it had already surpassed the recovery period last year.

It contracted a P30-billion emergency loan from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) last year after it experienced a bank run due to its direct relations to the former President Joseph Estrada. The amount had since been repaid in several tranches.

However, the bank has put on hold plans to initiate a Tier 2 capital infusion. The plan for capital infusion other than the P30-billion emergency loan from the BSP and PDIC were reportedly among the reasons why Vergara and Vistan decided to resign their senior management position.

Its full year net income in 2001 of P119.8 million was miserable compared to the P1.05 billion the year before. However, it remains among the top three banks in terms of assets.– Ted Torres