RCBC grows profit by nearly 50% at end-March

By: Joseph Villanueva, InterAksyon.com
May 7, 2012 9:38 PM

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MANILA, Philippines - Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) on Monday said its net income surged by nearly half in the first quarter this year.

In a statement, the Yuchengco-owned bank said its earned P1.53 billion in the January to March period, 49.47 percent more than the P1.02 billion in the same three-month period last year.

Net interest income, which represents gains from the lending business, rose 6.11 percent to P2.7 billion.

Net loans grew by 19.65 percent to P185.70 billion this year from P155.21 billion in 2011. Its non-performing loans ratio dropped to 1.44 percent from the previous year’s 3.34 percent, with its bad loan coverage at 113.51 percent.

Low-cost checking accounts and savings accounts (CASA) increased 20.11 percent, raising the ratio of CASA to total deposits to 60.52 percent this year from 55,97 percent last year.

Non-interest income surged 60 percent on the back of trading gains and trust fees, which comprised 66 percent of total non-interest income.

The lender's capital adequacy ratio stood at 18.11 percent, above the regulatory minimum of 10 percent, while its Tier 1 ratio of 13.50 percent likewise surpassed the required six percent.

RCBC said it increased its branch network to 392 and its ATM network to 841 in the first quarter.

"RCBC’s thrust to improve transaction efficiency, and productivity will be supported by a new scalable and nimble core banking platform completely operational in May 2012. This is also expected to support innovation in product development. With the new platform, RCBC will focus on cross-selling and customer penetration the next five years as it continues to build businesses in less cyclical businesses in Microfinance, SME, Consumer Banking and Global transaction services," the lender said.

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