Landbank income up 4% in 1st half

MANILA, Philippines - Land Bank of the Philippines, a state-run financial institution, posted a net income of P5.74 billion in the first semester of 2012 on the back of higher revenues from loans and investments, its top official said yesterday.

The amount is almost four percent higher than the P5.52 billion posted a year ago, data from the bank showed.

Landbank president and chief executive officer Gilda Pico said the bank’s prudent management of operating costs helped boost first half income.

“Our solid performance for the first half of the year is driven primarily by the consistent upward trend in our revenues from loans and investments.

This also reflects the bank’s prudent management of operating costs and increased focus on strengthening other areas of profitability to better serve our priority sectors,” she said.

Landbank’s capital reached P72 billion as of June 2012, bringing the capital adequacy ratio – an indicator of a bank’s strength -- to 20.81 percent.

The ratio is much higher than the 10 percent minimum requirement set by regulators. Return on equity, meanwhile, stood at 16.13 percent. – Iris Gonzales, Donnabelle Gatdula