Philippine National Bank (PNB) reported a 17 percent increase in net income for the first half of 2026 to P14.6 billion, up from P12.5 billion a year earlier, driven by higher lending, higher fee-based income and continued improvement in asset quality.

The stronger earnings lifted the bank’s return on equity to 12.1 percent from 11.4 percent in the same period last year.

Operating revenue increased by P3.3 billion during the six months, with net interest income rising seven percent as interest income from loans grew 12 percent while the cost of deposits declined 24 percent.

Fee-based income, on the other hand, also expanded 17 percent, led by a significant increase in bancassurance revenue.

The bank said credit costs continued to decline amid sustained improvements in asset quality and a healthier loan portfolio.

Its gross non-performing loan (NPL) ratio improved to 4.2 percent from 5.5 percent a year earlier.

Further, the government-owned bank’s total assets increased 4.4 percent year on year to P1.35 trillion from P1.29 trillion, supported by growth in the loan portfolio.

Total loans expanded 10 percent to P764 billion from P696 billion as the bank improved the utilization of its deposit base, resulting in a higher loan-to-deposit ratio than a year earlier. Corporate and commercial loans rose 11 percent, while consumer loans grew 21 percent.

PNB chief financial officer Francis Albalate said about 90 percent of the growth in consumer lending during the first half came from secured loans, particularly housing loans.

“About 90 percent of consumer loan expansion during the first half of the year was in the secured lending area, particularly housing loans. We are not seeing any deterioration in the portfolio’s credit quality despite the current market environment,” Albalate said.