DBP assets breach P1 trillion mark in 2020

MANILA, Philippines — State-run Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) reported that its total assets as of last year exceeded the trillion-peso mark two years ahead of target as deposits and investments registered double-digit growth rates.

DBP’s total assets reached P1.04 trillion at the end of 2020, a 37-percent rise from P761.24 billion in the previous year.

Deposits grew by 47.6 percent to P817.9 billion last year from P554.18 billion in 2019. Investments, meanwhile, rose by 26 percent to P260.1 billion from P206.57 billion.

“DBP’s latest milestone manifests the public’s continued confidence in DBP as a strong, stable and reliable financial institution,” said Emmanuel Herbosa, DBP president and CEO.

“We are emboldened by the fact that the bank was able to achieve this feat two years earlier than our projected timeline and despite the constraints of the prevailing public health crisis,” he said.

DBP is the sixth largest bank in terms of assets and has been designated as the country’s infrastructure bank by the national government.

It has a branch network of 129 full-service branch offices including 11 branch lite units situated mostly in underserved and remote areas.

Amid the need for increased support to priority sectors during the pandemic, the bank ramped up its lending by 19 percent last year with majority of the credit assistance channeled to sectors and industries affected by the economic downturn.

Total loans to borrowers reached P423.32-billion last year compared to P356.75-billion in 2019.

The bulk of the loans went to infrastructure and logistics, social services and community development, environmental projects, and micro, small and medium enterprises.

“We remain committed to the collective and purposive efforts of the national government to bolster resiliency and carve a steady path to recovery and growth especially of our traditional customer segments,” Herbosa said.

Higher provisioning for loan loss and increase in operating expenses, however, trimmed the bank’s net income last year by 30 percent to P3.9-billion from P5.60-billion in 2019.

“DBP’s financial standing mirrors the general trend in the industry as majority of the banks amplified actions in ensuring ample reserves to cover probable losses as a result of dwindling economic activity,” said Marietta Fondevilla, DBP executive vice president for corporate services and concurrent head of operations.