RCBC net income up 70% in Q1

Yuchengco-led Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) reported an unaudited consolidated net income of P3.6 billion in the first quarter this year, up 70 percent from P2.1 billion in 2022, boosted by its core business and expansion in IT, digital and data to onboard more clients, according to its highest-ranking official. “We are reinforcing our sales network to enable wider and efficient coverage, guided by data science and analytics to further understand customer needs and serve them better,” said RCBC President and CEO Eugene S. Acevedo on Thursday, May 11. Acevedo said that in keeping with its expansion, it has improved its capital base by seven percent during the period, with above-minimum capital adequacy ratios as required by the central bank. He is looking forward to the P27.1 billion capital infusion from the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (SMBC) since this will add another 300 to 400 basis points to its current common equity tier 1 or CET1 ratios to “further support its asset expansion.” “There are many opportunities for synergy and collaboration with SMBC, some of which we have been actively pursuing in the past few months,” said Acevedo. “By adopting SMBC's global best practices, we seek to redefine banking as a whole and raise the bar for customer experience,” he added. As of end-March, RCBC which is the country’s sixth largest lender out of 45 big banks, reported an annualized return on equity of 13.3 percent while annualized return on assets stood at 1.3 percent. Total resources of P1.2 trillion is 20% higher year-on-year due to the “steady build-up of earning assets–customer loans” which rose by 10 percent. Its investment securities also increased 27 percent. “Accounting for 18% of asset growth for the period, (RCBC’s) loan portfolio focused on higher yielding segments, such as SME (small and medium enterprises), higher by 18%, consumer loans up by 14% and credit card receivables higher by 46%,” the bank said in a statement. With more focus on digital platform and features, RCBC said is credit card business went up by 67 percent in the first quarter. It noted that data analytics “allowed for strong acquisition in the first quarter with 44% more new card issuances, while keeping card delinquency rates within industry levels.” As for RCBC’s asset quality, this improved to 1.99 percent net non-performing loans which is its pre-pandemic NPL. Meanwhile, the bank’s deposit base grew by 27 percent year-on-year as of end-March to P859 billion, boosted by the 17 percent rise in CASA deposits, it said. “(The) comprehensive suite of cash management services and extensive corporate and SME banking relationships continued to provide the uplift in CASA,” it added. Presently, RCBC has a total of network of 462 branches, 1,371 automated teller machines, and 1,784 ATM Go terminals across the Philippines. Last year, RCBC had a net income of P12.1 billion, up by 71 percent from 2021’s P7.1 billion. In 2022, Japan' second biggest bank, SMBC, said it was investing P27.1 billion in RCBC to grow its business here via the local bank. With the capital infusion, SMBC's stake in RCBC increased to 20 percent from five percent previously.