China Banking Corp. (Chinabank) announced that its board of directors has declared cash dividends totaling ₱6.7 billion, following the bank’s record earnings in 2024.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the bank said it will pay a regular cash dividend of ₱1.5 per common share and an additional ₱1 per common share special dividend on May 22, 2025, to shareholders on record as of May 9, 2025.

“The higher regular cash dividend marks a 25-percent uptick from the ₱1.20 per common share paid in 2024. The total amount of cash dividends is 14-percent higher than in 2024, equivalent to a payout ratio of 27 percent and a cash dividend yield of 2.8 percent based on the bank’s closing stock price of ₱89.55 as of April 23, 2025,” Chinabank said.

Chinabank noted its history of regular dividend payments, demonstrating its financial strength and commitment to maximizing shareholder value.

Last year, the bank paid ₱5.9 billion in cash dividends: ₱1.20 per share regular cash dividend and an additional ₱1.00 per share special cash dividend.

Chinabank’s net income increased 13 percent to an all-time high of ₱24.8 billion last year, due to the sustained strength of its core businesses.

“We continue to remain focused on executing our strategies to deliver quality service to our customers and stellar financial results to all our stakeholders,” Chinabank President and CEO Romeo D. Uyan Jr. said.

He added that, “Our ongoing business transformation as well as solid fundamentals will allow us to sustain our growth in the coming years.”

The bank generated 21-percent-higher revenues of ₱65.5 billion, mainly from net interest income, which grew by 19 percent to ₱63.5 billion, on the back of asset base expansion and improvement in net interest margin to 4.5 percent.

As Chinabank continued to pursue its growth strategies, operating expenses reached ₱30.7 billion, up 14 percent, on sustained investments in manpower and technology, and volume-related taxes. Nonetheless, the cost-to-income ratio improved to 47 percent.

Despite easing its non-performing loans (NPL) ratio to 1.6 percent, the bank took a more proactive stance against portfolio risks and increased its credit provisions to ₱3.3 billion. The resulting NPL coverage was higher, at 139 percent.

Total assets stood at ₱1.6 trillion, up 11 percent, maintaining its status as the fourth-largest private universal bank in the country.

Chinabank Chief Finance Officer Patrick D. Cheng said the bank’s balance sheet remains strong, adding that, “With ample liquidity and a solid capital structure, we can confidently support our institutional and retail customers and advance our growth strategies while ensuring financial stability through market volatilities and economic challenges.”

Gross loans increased by 18 percent to ₱933 billion on higher loan demand across all customer segments. Meanwhile, total deposits grew by 12 percent to ₱1.3 trillion.