Philippine National Bank (PNB) of the Lucio Tan Group posted an 18 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated net income to ₱21.2 billion in 2024 as a result of sustained effort in strengthening its core business.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, PNB said last year’s earnings translated to a return on equity of 10.39 percent, up from the 9.95 percent posted in 2023.
PNB President Florido P. Casuela said, “2024 marks another milestone for the bank as our net income continued its growth trajectory on the back of robust net interest income, prudent expense management and lower credit provisions.”
“The bank’s performance indicates that our strategic initiatives are gaining traction that will solidify our market position among the leading banks,” he added.
Comprising 83 percent of total operating income, PNB’s net interest income surpassed its year-ago level by 11 percent to reach ₱49.3 billion.
The double-digit expansion was propelled by a 13 percent growth in interest income arising from increased lending and investment activities combined with higher yields.
Funding efficiencies were likewise achieved, driven by a seven percent increase in current account and savings account (CASA) deposits, which made up 84 percent of deposit liabilities.
By the end of 2024, the bank’s net interest margin (NIM) widened to 4.5 percent compared to the 4.23 percent registered a year ago.
Income from PNB’s fee-based business went up by four percent to ₱5.5 billion, which is attributed to an increase in the volume of transactions covering loans, credit cards, deposits, and trade.
“We are very pleased with what the bank has achieved in terms of its financial results, which, in particular, showed a solid core income as the driver for the bank’s bottom line. In particular, we were successful in increasing our NIM, supported by broad-based loan expansion as well as efficient deployment of funds,” said Casuela.
Trading and foreign exchange gains of ₱1.8 billion, which increased by three percent, supplemented the core income growth as the bank was able to capitalize on market opportunities, despite the thinner volatility and liquidity in the foreign exchange market during the year.
While lower than in 2023, PNB also continued to aggressively dispose of its foreclosed assets in 2024 and contributed ₱2 billion to the bank’s bottom line.
Without the significant one-off gains from the sale of foreclosed assets in 2023, the bank’s non-core income would have posted a strong growth of 31 percent year-on-year.
Operating expenses were prudently managed, rising only by four percent to ₱29.6 billion, with the bank’s cost efficiency ratio maintained at 49.6 percent.
PNB’s total assets stood at ₱1.3 trillion as of Dec. 31, 2024, growing by four percent year-on-year, buoyed by higher loans and investment portfolio.
Meanwhile, its reported net income for the year raised its total equity to ₱216.6 billion, up by 13 percent from a year-ago level.
This resulted in stronger Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio and capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 19.21 percent and 20.1 percent, respectively, which are way above the minimum regulatory requirements.