Bank of Commerce (BankCom), the banking arm of conglomerate San Miguel Corporation (SMC), was assigned an Issuer Credit Rating of PRS Aa plus (corp.) with a "Stable Outlook" by Philippine Rating Services Corporation (PhilRatings).
PhilRatings said an Issuer Credit Rating is an opinion on the general and overall creditworthiness of the company, evaluating its ability to meet all its financial obligations within a time horizon of one year.

A company rated PRS Aa (corp.) differs from the highest rated corporates only to a small degree, and has a strong capacity to meet its financial commitments relative to that of other Philippine corporates.
The “plus” further qualifies the assigned rating while a Stable Outlook indicates that the rating is likely to be maintained in the next 12 months.
PhilRating said the assigned rating and outlook took into account the opportunities for growth with BankCom’s acquisition of a universal banking license, albeit the bank remains a mid-sized player.
It also considered the benefits from being part of the San Miguel Group, the bank’s highly-experienced management, and the sustained improvement in its profitability and asset quality.
In November 2022, BankCom officially started operations as a universal bank (unibank). With the upgrade of its banking license from commercial bank to unibank, BankCom is now be able to exercise the powers of an investment house, thus broadening its revenue streams.
The bank also anticipates enhanced relationship with clients, given that it would be able to carry a wider range of financial products and services.
BankCom benefits from being an affiliate of SMC and currently derives almost a third of its retail base from the SMC ecosystem which includes suppliers and distributors of the SMC Group, among others.
Moving forward, BankCom intends to leverage its access to the SMC ecosystem for the continued growth of its loan and trade portfolios.
BankCom looks forward to further significant growth in its net income over the next two years, backed by the continued uplift in revenues.
Net interest income will still account for the bulk of revenue streams, while non-interest income is expected to rise substantially given improving market conditions.
Non-interest income will also be on account of increased cross-selling activities, wider customer base and better customer relationship, as well as the Investment Banking Group’s transition into a regular income generator.
Going forward, BankCom anticipates the sustained expansion of its loan book, supported by the successful implementation of its strategies.