THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) recorded a lower net income in the first half of the year as expenses and revenues went up compared with a year ago.

Preliminary data posted on the BSP’s website showed the central bank’s net income fell by 63.6% to P19.86 billion in the January-to-June period from P54.62 billion in the same period last year.

The BSP’s expenses surged by 78.3% to P102.58 billion from P57.53 billion a year ago. Interest expenses more than doubled (171%) to P80.15 billion, while other central bank expenses went down by 19.9% to P22.43 billion.

Revenues edged higher by 6.7% to P90.63 billion in the first semester from P84.96 billion in the comparable year-ago period. Interest income rose by 31.7% to P93.41 billion.

However, the central bank posted a P2.78-billion loss from miscellaneous sources, which include trading gains, fees and penalties. This is a reversal of the P14.07-billion gain a year earlier.

Still, the central bank swung to a net income in the second quarter after posting a net loss of P1.4 billion in the first quarter of the year.

The BSP’s net gains from foreign exchange (FX) rate fluctuations in the first half of the year reached P31.81 billion, 16.9% higher than the P27.21 billion seen in the comparable period in 2022.

According to the BSP, these are realized gains from fluctuations in FX rates arising from its foreign currency-denominated transactions.

The BSP’s assets hit P7.294 trillion as of end-June, decreasing by 2.1% from the P7.449 trillion a year earlier. Total liabilities inched down by 3.3% to P7.127 trillion as of June from P7.373 trillion in the previous year.

With this, the BSP’s net worth climbed by 119% to P167.34 billion at end-June, more than double from P76.36 billion a year ago. — Keisha B. Ta-asan 

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