PNB profit reaches P10.3 billion for first half 2024

26 July 2024 — Philippine National Bank (PSE: PNB) registered a consolidated net income of P10.3 billion for the first half of 2024 as the Bank managed to beef up its core banking activities despite the prevailing challenges in the economic environment.

The Bank’s six-month net interest income went up by 11 percent year-on-year, driven by a 17-percent increase in interest income earned from its loan portfolio and treasury assets, due to high interest rates combined with increased volume. Likewise, the Bank was able to temper the impact of higher interest expense on deposits by deploying these deposits to assets with better yields. As a result, the Bank’s net interest margin improved to 4.37 percent from 4.14 percent a year ago.

On the other hand, the Bank’s other operating income amounted to P2.3 billion, lower compared from a year-ago level of P4.4 billion mainly due to the substantial ROPA sale recognized by the Bank a year ago.

Operating expenses declined by 4 percent to settle at P14.3 billion due to prudent spending despite the continued business growth.

The Bank set aside additional credit provisions of P2.1 billion during the six-month period.

As of June 30, 2024, the Bank’s total consolidated assets stood at P1.26 trillion, 4 percent higher than the end-December 2023 balance on the back of growth in loans and treasury assets. With income for the period, the Bank augmented its total equity by 6 percent, translating to improvement in the Bank’s Capital Adequacy Ratio to 17.0% and Common Equity Tier 1 Ratio to 16.2%.

“PNB’s performance has been on an upward trajectory since the start of the year and we attribute this to the sound execution of our strategies and growth initiatives,” said PNB President Florido Casuela. “The stronger focus and collaboration of our business groups have enabled us to serve a broader part of the commercial lending and consumer finance segments. We are happy to help these segments grow and it is made more meaningful by the fact that we just marked our 108th founding anniversary as a financial institution that helps Filipinos reach their aspirations.”

In line with its sustainability initiatives, PNB together with the Asian Development Bank signed a deal with Buskowitz Energy, Inc. to finance the development, construction, and operation of rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the Philippines for commercial and residential buildings. Under the project, a total of 70 megawatts of solar power generation capacity will be installed in the provinces of Bacolod, Bulacan, Laguna, Misamis Oriental, Pampanga, Pangasinan and Zamboanga.

In support of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ financial inclusion program, PNB also actively participated in the Paleng-QR Ph Plus program conducted recently in Pampanga to enable its clients to understand and experience the benefits of using QR codes for easy and seamless transactions. The Paleng-QR Ph program aims to build the digital payments ecosystem in the country by promoting cashless payments in public markets and local transportation, particularly tricycles.