Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP)’s total assets reached P1.04-trillion last year, up 37 percent from P761.24 billion in 2019, as deposits grew 47.6 percent to P817.9 billion and investments increased 26 percent to P260.1 billion.

“This latest milestone manifests the public’s continued confidence in DBP as a strong, stable and reliable financial institution,” according to President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel G. Herbosa.

"The bank achieved this feat two years earlier than our projected timeline and despite the constraints of the prevailing public health crisis,” he added.

As of last year, DBP granted loans totaling P423.32-billion, up 19 percent, mostly to critical sectors and industries severely affected in the current economic downturn.

Infrastructure and logistics loans accounted for nearly 53.4 percent or P225.9 billion of DBP's portfolio, followed by loans to social services and community development, at P78.9 billion; environmental projects, P44.8 billion; and micro, small and medium enterprises (mSMEs), P32.8 billion.

However, due to higher loan loss provisioning and increase in operating expenses, DBP’s 2020 net income decreased 30.4 percent to P3.9-billion, according to DBP Executive Vice President for Corporate Services and Concurrent Head of Operations Marietta M. Fondevilla.

Nevertheless, DBP’s gross margin from January to December 2020 grew five percent to P20.91-billion from the P19.9-billion earned for the same period in 2019.

“DBP’s financial standing mirrors the general trend in the industry as majority of the banks amplified actions in ensuring ample reserves to cover probable losses as a result of dwindling economic activity,” Fondevilla explained.

DBP is the sixth largest bank in the country in terms of assets and has been designated as the country’s Infrastructure Bank by the National Government.

It has a branch network of 129 full-service branch offices including 11 branch lite units situated mostly in underserved and far-flung areas of the country.