Philippine Bank of Communications (PBCOM) reported a 34.6 percent growth in consolidated net income last year to P1.57 billion, the highest since the entry of the Lucio Co Group in 2014.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the bank said the increase in net income came on the back of improved performance of its core businesses and normalized provision for credit losses.

This translated to a return in equity of 11.78 percent in 2021 from 9.79 percent in 2020, while return on assets was at 1.49 percent from 1.15 percent.

Net interest income increased by 8.1 percent to P4.24 billion. The Bank’s loans and receivables showed healthy growth, expanding by 10.2 percent to P63.5 billion, which is higher than the industry growth of 4.9 percent.

The bank’s deposit volume grew by 3.8 percentled by a 30 percent or P12.0 billion growth in low interest bearing deposit base.

The increase in low cost deposits, which now represents 60.4 percent of the deposit mix, helped cushion the impact of a low interest rate environment with net interest margin at 4.83 percent, an improvement of 20 basis points from 2020.

Non-interest income showed a decline largely due to trading and rental income.

“The bank’s focus on core businesses, such as corporate lending and generation of low-cost deposits, has provided the Bank a steady income despite market uncertainties,” said PBCOM President and CEO Patricia May T. Siy.

She added that, “We likewise believe that we have our non-performing loans under control as shown by reduced requirements for provisioning.” Total Assets reached P109.23 billion in 2021, an increase of 7.9 percent while capital strengthened by P1.65 billion to P14.18 billion.

PBCOM’s Common Equity Tier 1 and Capital Adequacy Ratios were at 15.58 percent and 18.18 percent, respectively, in excess of the required regulatory ratios.

In February 2022, PBCOM announced that it has secured the Bangko Sentral’s approval to upgrade its license to a Universal Banking License. The license upgrade allows PBCOM to pursue its plans to broaden its product and service offerings.

“We are proud and thankful for this privilege to become a Universal Bank. Our steady growth the past years that began with the entry of the Lucio Co Group has been noteworthy,” said PBCOM Chairman Eric O. Recto.

He added that, “We now have a solid capital base from which we can expand our banking services in order to serve the needs of our valued customers. We, the Shareholders and Management of PBCOM, are all excited about this new chapter in our history.”