GOKONGWEI-LED Robinsons Bank Corp. is looking to grow its earnings to hit the P1-billion mark this year after ending 2019 with about P700 million in consolidated income, its top official said.

Robinsons Bank President and CEO Elfren Antonio S. Sarte told BusinessWorld that the bank will hit its P1-billion profit goal this year by growing its loan portfolio, especially its consumer loans, which posted double-digit growth in 2019.

While the bank has yet to release its full-year 2019 earnings report, Mr. Sarte said they likely hit their P700-million income target for 2019.

“Hopefully, we get to an income level of about a billion this year. From P700 (million) to P1 billion… We are growing our loan books quite fast. I think we are really more of a lending bank, both on commercial and corporate…but on consumer, we’re growing double-digit… I think year on year, we are growing about 30% in our consumer business,” he said on the sidelines of the central bank’s annual reception for the banking community on Jan. 24.

A P700-million consolidated income for 2019 will be more than double the P317-million bottom line Robinsons Bank booked in 2018.

The bank booked a net income of P461.28 million in nine months to September last year, surging by 56% from P294.96 million posted in the same period in 2018.

Mr. Sarte said the bank ended 2019 with P128 billion worth of assets and targets to grow this by at least P30 billion this year.

As of end-September 2019, Robinsons Bank was the 19th largest bank in the country in terms of assets with P107.638 million.

Mr. Sarte earlier said the Gokongwei-led bank will still push through with its plan to be upgraded to a universal bank and eventually do an initial public offering within four years or by 2024.

BOND OFFER
Meanwhile, Mr. Sarte said its P10-billion fundraising program that it will launch this year will be offered in two tranches worth P5 billion each.

He said they have yet to finalize the details of the bonds but they can issue them as corporate bonds, notes or long-term negotiable certificates of deposit (LTNCD).

“We can do either corporate bonds or we can also look at corporate notes and LTNCD, but total is P10 billion this year. I’m looking at possibly two tranches — P5 billion each,” he said.

The bank’s board members approved its P10-billion fundraising plan for the year last month.

In October last year, the lender raised P2.5 billion via two-year bonds, the second tranche of its P10-billion corporate bond program for 2019. The bank also raised a total of P5 billion from two-year bonds in August last year from the first tranche of the fundraising program. — Beatrice M. Laforga

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