Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank), a subsidiary of Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company, posted a 39 percent growth in net income to P1.5 billion last year.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the bank said its “strong income performance was on the back of the increase in fee income by 22 percent, operating efficiencies which saw expenses decline by 3 percent, and the reduction in loan loss provisions owing largely to improved asset quality and effective collection efforts.”

Net non-performing loans ratio significantly dropped to 3.4 percent from 5.2 percent in 2020. Total deposits grew 29 percent to P216.80 billion from P167.46 billion.

Year-on- year, the Bank saw loan applications increasing. As the economy opened up and pandemic alert levels downgraded, consumer loan demand started to pick up in the second half of 2021.

“Our financial performance in 2021 is a testament of the strength of the Bank’s balance sheet, and the agility of the organization to quickly adapt to volatile market conditions,” PSBank President Jose Vicente L. Alde said.

He added that, “Our early and proactive efforts to adjust our strategies and operations allowed us to be at the forefront of opportunities as they unfold.”

Total assets closed higher by 19 percent to P261.81 billion from P219.41 billion a year ago. PSBank’s capital position was strong at P34.89 billion.

Total Capital Adequacy and Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) Ratios improved significantly to 24.3 percent and 23.2 percent respectively, both above the statutory requirement set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

“The last two years of the pandemic have highlighted the importance of organizational flexibility. PSBank was able to harness the skills of its people and switch resources to business operations which need more attention, has higher demand or present new opportunities,” said Alde.

He noted that, “Our digital transformation roadmap launched earlier than the pandemic allowed us to stay ahead of our customers’ requirements for non-contact banking.”