Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) reported a 14.5 percent growth in net earnings to P12.0 billion in the first quarter 2024 for a return on equity (ROE) of 13.7 percent.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the bank said this was driven by consistent growth of its lending portfolio, better operational efficiencies, stable asset quality, and continued execution of strategies to optimize the use of capital.
Metrobank’s total consolidated assets expanded by 10.7 percent to P3.2 trillion.
The bank’s net interest income grew by 15.4 percent to P28.7 billion in the first three months of the year due to the sustained growth in interest earning assets and higher net interest margin of 4.0 percent from 3.9 percent.
This was supported by the continued expansion of its gross loans, which rose by 12.1 percent year-on-year. Commercial loans increased by 11.2 percent, partly driven by rising capital expenditures of corporates.
The bank’s consumer loans portfolio recorded a 15.3 percent growth, led by a 25.5 percent increase in gross credit card receivables and 18.2 percent expansion in auto loans.
Meanwhile, the Bank’s total deposits increased by 4.9 percent from the same period last year to P2.4 trillion, with low-cost current and savings accounts (CASA) contributing 58.6 percent of the total. Operating expenses posted an increase of 6.5 percent year-on-year.
Meanwhile, non-performing loans (NPLs) ratio eased to 1.7 percent from 1.8 percent in the first quarter of 2023 and this enabled the Bank to trim provisions to P562 million during the quarter from P2.4 billion a year ago. The Bank’s NPL cover remains at 174.1 percent.