ROBINSONS BANK Corp. saw its net profit climb in the first half of the year, driven by expansion of its loan book.
In a text message, Robinsons Bank President and Chief Executive Officer Elfren Antonio S. Sarte said the net income of the Gokongwei-led lender reached P201.8 million in the first semester, up 33.9% from the same period last year.
Mr. Sarte said this puts Robinsons Bank “on track” to reach its year-end target income of P500 million.
The lender’s total interest income grew 40.7% to P2.5 billion in the first half from the P1.78 billion logged in the comparable year-ago period.
“The improvement in the income performance of the bank is largely due to the increase in our lending books,” Mr. Sarte told BusinessWorld in a text message.
The total loan portfolio of Robinsons Bank stood at P59.7 billion, growing by 43.5% year-on-year.
Likewise, total deposits grew 18.6% to P83.8 billion.
Overall, the bank’s total assets stood at P107.3 billion as of end-June, up 25.8% from end-June last year.
In a previous interview, Mr. Sarte said the bank expects lending growth to ease this year, as the 40% loan growth it posted last year “might be hard” to sustain following interest rate hikes implemented by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
Looking ahead, Mr. Sarte said the bank is keen on scaling up as a universal bank and eventually going public.
Robinsons Bank is currently licensed as a commercial lender and is the 19th biggest in the industry in asset terms as of end-March, data from the central bank revealed. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

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