Government-owned Land Bank of the Philippines’ (Landbank) net income surged by 141 percent to P13.2 billion in the first three months of 2022 versus P5.48 billion in 2021 on strong assets, deposits and capital growth.
Landbank President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo attributed the strong growth to the bank’s higher interest income from loans and investments, as well as one-time gains from the merger with the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB).
Borromeo said the bank’s strong income performance also reflects the recovering economy. “We will build on this growth trajectory to continue assisting key development sectors and contribute to our collective recovery, to drive our broader thrust of serving the nation,” she said in a statement.
The higher net income led to a return on equity of 14.27 percent in the first quarter, which the bank emphasized is well above the industry average of 9.08 percent as of end-December 2021.
The government-controlled Landbank is the country’s second biggest bank. It has a total assets size of P2.792 trillion as of end-March 2022 which is 16 percent higher than the P2.405 trillion in 2021.
The merger with UCPB increased Landbank’s assets by P291.83 billion. Major asset accounts, including loans and investments, likewise increased in double-digits, said the bank.
Meantime, Landbank said it booked a 12 percent growth in capital year-on-year to P218.36 billion from P194.59 billion, mainly due to the record net income in 2021.
As of end-March, the bank released total outstanding loans of P822.01 billion to its priority sectors. Of this amount, P236.86 billion was channeled to support the agriculture sector.
Landbank and UCPB merger, which was done by March 1, involved the merger of some P2.9 trillion in total resources. As the surviving entity, Landbank’s total assets expanded.
The merger also increases Landbank’s branches to 677 with 2,800 automated teller machines and 228 cash deposit machines nationwide.
Landbank said all UCPB branches will continue to operate and serve UCPB customers until the systems integration and accounts migration to Landbank are completed.
The presidential Executive Order No. 142, signed on June 25, 2021, ordered the merger of Landbank and UCPB to “form a better capitalized and more resilient institution that will play a principal role in the National Government’s development and financial inclusion agenda.”