PSBank ups Q1 profit by 25%

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) booked a 25 percent jump in net income in the first quarter on the back of the strong performance of the listed bank’s core businesses.

In a report to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the thrift bank arm of Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. said its earnings amounted to P641.1 million from January to March, P130 million higher than the P511.1 million recorded in the same period last year.

PSBank president Jose Vicente Alde said the improvement in the performance in the first quarter resulted from the year-on-year momentum brought about by the bank’s strategy to focus on exceptional customer experience, digitization of products and channels as well as automation of backroom processes.

“These resulted to an expansion of our market stronghold and good bottom line performance,” Alde said.

PSBank posted a double-digit growth of 15 percent in total operating income to P3.7 billion from P3.2 billion.

PSBank’s loan booked grew by 11.7 percent to P149.2 billion, driven by the bank’s consumer loan business.

The listed bank’s total assets rose by 9.4 percent to P224.8 billion as its deposit base went up by 9.2 percent to P186 billion.

PSBank’s total capital adequacy ratio (CAR) stood at 13.7 percent and its common equity tier-1 (CET-1) ratio reached 11 percent in the first quarter, both above the minimum required level set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The Metrobank unit currently has 250 branches and 611 ATMs strategically located nationwide.

Metrobank registered a 5.3 percent increase in net income to P5.9 billion in the first quarter from P5.6 billion in the same quarter last year amid the double-digit growth in loans and deposits.