Philippine banks’ 2017 profits shoot higher on strong loan growth — Moody’s

Moody’s Investor Service said the robust loan growth drove higher the profit of Philippine banks in 2017, although this puts pressure on the lenders’ capitalization.
“Net profit at Philippine banks broadly increased in 2017 in line with our expectations on the back of strong loan volume growth,” Simon Chen, Moody’s Vice President and Senior Analyst, was quoted as saying in a statement on Thursday, April 5.
Moody’s said most banks posted loan growth of 15-19% last year on the back of demand from consumers and local businesses under strong macroeconomic conditions.
“Retail loans continued to grow faster than corporate loans at many banks,” added Mr. Chen. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal