PHILIPPINE Bank of Communications (PBCom) saw its attributable net income rise by 16.3% in 2023, it said on Tuesday.

The lender’s attributable net income stood at P1.898 billion last year, up from P1.632 billion in 2022, the bank’s financial statement disclosed to the local bourse showed.

This translated to a return on average equity of 11.42% and a return on average assets of 1.39%.

PBCom’s net interest income went down by 2.25% year on year to P4.7 billion from P4.81 billion amid higher interest expenses due to an elevated rate environment.

As a result, PBCom’s net interest margin declined to 3.96% from 4.8%.

Total operating income grew by 7.21% to P5.96 billion from P5.56 billion on higher earnings from services charges, fees and commissions and better trading and foreign exchange gains, among others.

Meanwhile, the bank’s operating expenses inched up by 0.54% to P3.42 billion last year from P3.41 billion in 2022.

This brought its cost-to-income ratio to 57.82%, higher than the 56.05% in 2022.

PBCom’s loans grew by 19.31% to P91.77 billion in 2023 from P76.92 billion a year prior.

The bank ended the year with a nonperforming loan ratio of 2.4%, lower than the 3.23% seen in the previous year.

On the funding side, deposit liabilities stood at P116.7 billion, up by 17.59% from P99.44 billion in 2022. PBCom said this was mainly driven by time deposits.

The bank’s loan-to-deposit ratio went up to 78.74% from 77.88%.

PBCom’s assets stood at P147.48 billion at end-2023, up by 18.1% from P124.88 billion a year ago. Total equity rose by 13.42% to P17.66 billion from P15.57 billion.

The bank’s capital adequacy ratio stood at 16.55% last year, down from 17.07% in 2022. Its liquidity ratio also went down to 19.69% from 21.41%.

PBCom’s shares declined by 42 centavos or 2.35% to end at P17.46 apiece on Tuesday. — A.M.C. Sy

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