Landbank income rises by 23%

MANILA, Philippines — State-run Land Bank of the Philippines continued to book double-digit growth in its net income as of end-September as a result of its intensified lending activities, particularly to the agriculture sector, a top official said yesterday.

In a statement, Landbank president and chief executive officer Cecilia Borromeo said the bank’s net profit in the first nine months grew by almost 23 percent to P13.97 billion from P11.36 billion in the same period last year.

This also exceeded the bank’s net income target of P12.48 billion for the period by about 12 percent.

With this, Borromeo said Landbank is on track to meet its full year revenue target of P16.64 billion for 2019.

According to Borromeo, the increase in the bank’s profit from January to September was driven by its income from loans, which jumped by 50 percent during the period.

This growth came as Landbank continued to beef up its gross loan portfolio, which reached P869.31 billion by the end of September, as compared to P838.75 billion a year ago.

“We continue to grow Landbank’s financial position as the bank’s profitable operations allow us to consistently drive support for our priority sectors, especially farmers and fishers,” Borromeo said.

She said Landbank remains the biggest lender to the agriculture sector, with gross loans amounting to P227.55 billion as of end-September.

Of the amount, P41.25 billion went to small farmers (including agrarian reform beneficiaries), fishers and their associations, while P186.29 billion in loans were extended to other players in the agri-business value chain.

“Landbank remains largely compliant with the Agri-Agra Credit Law, with 21.74 percent compliance with the prescribed allocation for agrarian reform credit and 429.29 percent compliance for other agricultural credit as of Sept. 30 this year,”
Borromeo said.

The law mandates banks to allocate 10 percent of their total loanable funds to agrarian reform beneficiaries and 15 percent to borrowers for other agricultural purposes.

Meanwhile, Borromeo said Landbank’s total assets likewise grew by 10.7 percent to P1.96 trillion from P1.77 trillion as of September last year, driven by growth in loans and investments.

Deposits also expanded by 10.8 percent to P1.74 trillion from P1.57 trillion, while capital grew by 16 percent to P144.87 billion from P124.88 billion in the same period last year.

Earlier, Borromeo said Landbank’s agriculture loan portfolio is expected to grow to P231.25 billion by the end of the year from P222.06 billion in 2018.

She said the bank intends to increase its loans for agriculture to P350 billion by 2022, in line with the order of President Duterte to intensify its support to the sector.

It also aims to increase the number of farmers assisted from 889,669 as of June 2019 to three million by 2022.