Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) of the Ayala Group reported a 20 percent year-on-year growth in net income to ₱62 billion for 2024, driven by higher revenues and partly offset by higher operating expenses and provisions.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the bank said its return on equity stood at 15.1 percent and return on assets at two percent.

For the fourth quarter of 2024, the bank recorded a net income of ₱14.1 billion, up eight percent year-on-year, on higher revenue growth.

BPI generated a robust revenue of ₱170.1 billion, up 23 percent from the previous year, attributable to the 22.3 percent increase in net interest income to ₱127.6 billion as average asset base expanded 16.8 percent and net interest margin widened 22 basis points (bps) to 4.31 percent.

Further boosting revenues was the 25.3 percent increase in non-interest income to P42.6 billion, driven by higher income from the credit card, wealth management and bancassurance businesses, as well as gains from securities trading.

Operating expenses for the year stood at ₱83.8 billion, up 21.3 percent year-on year, on higher manpower, technology, and volume-related expenses. Cost-to-income declined 71 bps to 49.3 percent.

The bank booked full year provisions of ₱6.6 billion, up 65 percent from last year. Non-performing loan ratio was at 2.13 percent, with the NPL coverage ratio at 106.2 percent.

Total loans stood at ₱2.3 trillion, an 18.2 percent increase over the previous year, inclusive of the portfolio acquired from the merger with Robinsons Bank Corporation.

Excluding this, organic loan growth remained strong at 13 percent, with growth in both our institutional and non-institutional segments.

Institutional loans grew 11.1 percent, while non-institutional loans soared 41.7 percent, driven by strong growth across all portfolios led by business banking, up 126 percent; personal loans, up 92.1 percent; and microfinance, up 62.3 percent.

Total funding grew 14.2 percent to reach ₱2.78 trillion, driven by a shift from time deposits to bonds issuance as a more cost-efficient funding source, leading other borrowed funds to rise 19 percent.

Total deposits stood at ₱2.6 trillion, up 13.9 percent year-on-year, mainly from the growth in time deposits. The bank’s CASA ratio was 63.2 percent, with the loan-to-deposit ratio at 87.5 percent, while CASA versus total funding was at 59.5 percent and loan-to-total funding was at 82.3 percent.

Total assets stood at ₱3.3 trillion, up 14.9 percent year-on-year. Total equity stood at ₱430.5 billion, with an indicative common equity tier 1 ratio of 13.8 percent and a capital adequacy ratio of 14.5 percent, both above regulatory requirements.