Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) of the Ty family booked a 5.1-percent improvement in net income to ₱24.8 billion in the first half of the year, from ₱23.6 billion in the same period of 2024, fueled by a surge in non-interest earnings from fees and trading and foreign exchange (forex) gains.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the bank also attributed its higher profit to healthy loan growth, recovering margins, and improving cost efficiency. Pre-provision operating profit in first half of 2025 rose 16.3 percent year-on-year to ₱39.1 billion.

“Our first-half performance reflects the continuing strength of our core businesses. As we enter the second half of the year, we remain focused on building on our fundamentals and implementing prudent strategies, which will allow us to continue helping our clients grow further as well as achieve our medium-term goals," said Metrobank President Fabian S. Dee.

Net interest income reached grew 3.4 percent to ₱60 billion in the first half of 2025 from ₱58 billion last year, supported by sustained growth across business segments and a sequential rebound in net interest margin (NIM).

Gross loans grew by 13.2 percent year-on-year on healthy performance across portfolios. Institutional loans grew by 12.7 percent on the back of sustained rise in corporate capital expenditures (capex).

Consumer loans went up by 15.3 percent, led by gross credit card receivables and auto loans, which climbed by 18.2 percent and 17.8 percent year-on-year, respectively.

Meanwhile, total deposits dipped to ₱2.3 trillion, from ₱2.4 trillion in the same period last year, of which ₱1.5 trillion are low-cost current and savings accounts (CASA), up from ₱1.39 trillion.

Non-interest income jumped 46.2 percent to ₱17.6 billion during the first half. Fee income reached ₱8.6 billion, supported by the expanding consumer business.

Combined trading and forex gains surged to ₱5.4 billion, driven by strong customer flows and implementation of optimization strategies in its investment portfolio.

Meanwhile, operating costs grew at a moderate pace of 5.9 percent year-on-year. As a result, cost-to-income ratio eased to 50 percent from 52.3 percent in the first half of 2024.

Asset quality likewise improved, with non-performing-loans (NPL) ratio easing back to 1.5 percent of total loans from 1.7 percent in the same period last year, which is still much lower than the industry’s reported 3.5-percent NPL ratio as of May 2025.

The bank booked ₱5.8 billion in provisions during the semester, keeping NPL cover high at 153.9 percent, still a strong buffer against any emerging risks.

Total consolidated assets expanded by six percent to ₱3.5 trillion, allowing the bank to maintain its position as the second-largest bank in asset terms among the private universal banks. Total equity stood at ₱390.7 billion.

Metrobank’s balance sheet remains strong with capital adequacy ratio (CAR) at 16.3 percent and Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio at 15.6 percent, all well above the minimum regulatory requirements.