PHILIPPINE National Bank (PNB) saw its net income rise in 2017 on the back of growth in its core earnings.

In a disclosure to the local bourse on late Thursday, the Tan-led PNB booked a consolidated net income of P8.2 billion in 2017, 14% higher than the P7.2 billion it recorded the previous year.

The lender’s net interest income rose 13% in 2017. This was mainly driven by the expansion in its loan portfolio to P502.1 billion, up by 17% from the P428.2 billion logged in 2016.

PNB’s total deposits, on the other hand, increased by 12% to P637.9 billion in 2017, up from the P570.5 billion recorded in 2016.

Meanwhile, net service fees and income from commissions went up 16% due to the growth in loan- and deposit-related services as well as improved investment banking fees.

PNB also booked a net gain of P3.9 billion for disposing its properties, up from the P2.5 billion booked in 2016. This was in line with the bank’s strategy to reduce its non-earning assets.

Trading and foreign exchange gains dropped 22% year-on-year, while operating expenses, excluding provisions for impairment and credit losses, increased 7% in 2017.

Overall, PNB’s total consolidated assets were at P836.2 billion, up 11% from the P754 billion in 2016.

In 2017, the lender raised P10.1 billion from the issuances of the second and third tranches of its P20-billion long-term negotiable certificates of deposit (LTNCD) program.

PNB plans to raise more capital by launching another LTNCD program of up to P20 billion which may be done in one or more tranches.

“The proceeds will be used to extend the maturity profile of the bank’s liabilities as part of overall liability management, support compliance with required BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) liquidity ratios, and raise long-term funds for general corporate purposes,” PNB said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange in January.

LTNCDs are similar to regular time deposits which offer higher interest rates, but the difference is that these cannot be pre-terminated. Being “negotiable” means that these can be traded at the secondary market prior to maturity date.

According to the latest data from the BSP, PNB is the sixth-largest bank in the Philippines in asset terms as of September 2017.

PNB shares closed at P56.40 apiece on Friday, down 20 centavos or 0.35%. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

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