Philippine Business Bank (PBB) recorded steady growth in net income at P1.8 billion last year as the bank allocated funds for taxes and posted trading losses.

In 2023, PBB earned P1.82 billion, driven by double-digit growth in net interest income from the prior year’s level.

In a recent disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, PBB said the bank increased net interest income by 4.2 percent to P6.7 billion this year from P6.4 billion in 2023.

“PBB achieved a 14.9 percent growth in its core income that covered interest income, service fees, and miscellaneous income. The bank’s trading performance offset this growth, which saw a reversal from the previous year,” PBB president Rolando Avante said.

Against expectation

“Despite the overwhelming indications pointing the other way, the interest rate environment towards the tail end of 2024 turned out to be different from expectation driven mainly by geopolitical factors and events,” he added.

Moreover, excluding taxes, the bank’s profit was higher at P2.4 billion from P2.33 billion.

Meanwhile, total deposits grew by 12 percent to P139.1 billion from P126.7 billion.

Given the growth in deposits compared to interest income, the bank’s net interest margin slightly worsened to 4.3 percent from 4.6 percent.

Total resources grew by P13.6 billion to P168 billion.

Thus, returns on assets and equity stood at 1.1 percent and 9.2 percent.