Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) posted a record P62 billion profit for the full period last year, up by 20 percent compared to 2023 as total loans grew partly due to its merger with Robinsons Bank.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, BPI said revenues jumped by 23 percent to P170.1 billion after net interest income reached P127.6 billion or 22 percent higher.

Total loans hit P2.3 trillion, reflecting a growth of 18.2 percent from transactions with both BPI and Robinsons Bank clients.

On 1 January 2024, Ayala-owned BPI as the surviving entity started integrating clients of the Gokongwei-owned Robinsons Bank.

This enabled BPI to access the latter’s 189 branches which include 14 full-service branches and 14 branch-lite units of its subsidiary thrift bank, Legazpi Savings Bank.

Internal clients’ loans

However, BPI stressed that loans from internal clients brought an organic loan growth of 13 percent. This reflected a 126 percent rise in business loans, 92.1 percent in personal loans and 62.3 percent in microfinance.

Amid elevated interest rates, provisions for bad loans rose by 65 percent to P6.6 billion, while non-performing loans (NPL) ratio stood at 2.13 percent and NPL coverage ratio at 106.2 percent.

Net interest margin still improved by 22 basis points to 4.31 percent as the bank earned more interest income than releases for depositor liabilities.

Non-interest income from service fees for credit cards, insurance, and securities trading also surged by 25.3 percent to P42.6 billion.

Meanwhile, deposits grew 14 percent to P2.6 trillion mainly due to time deposits.

Higher profits offset by operating costs

BPI said, however, that operating costs which jumped by 21.3 percent to P83.8 billion partly offset higher profit.

The bank also said it invested funds in manpower and technology. Still, cost-to-income improved by 71 basis points to 49.3 percent.

Total assets stood at P3.3 trillion, up 14.9 percent, while total equity settled at P430.5 billion.

BPI managed to post a strong return on equity of 15.1 percent and a two percent return on assets.