THE central bank’s net earnings surged to P30.21 billion in the first five months of the year, backed by higher interest and miscellaneous income. 

The five-month tally surged by 115% from the P14.04-billion net profit it booked in the comparable year-ago period, based on data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). 

Revenues in the first five months increased 81.1% to P73.38 billion from P40.52 billion a year earlier.  

The BSP’s interest income reached P43.86 billion, higher by 32.7% from the P33.04 billion in the first five months of 2020. 

Miscellaneous income, which includes trading gains, fees, and penalties, surged by 294% to P29.52 billion from P7.49 billion. This, despite a net loss of P110 million from foreign exchange fluctuations, a reversal of the net gain worth P2.09 billion in the same period of 2020. 

Meanwhile, the central bank’s expenses rose 50.7% to P43.06 billion from P28.57 billion a year earlier.  

Broken down, interest expenses increased 40.4% to P24.48 billion from P17.43 billion. 

Other expenses likewise inched up 67% to P18.58 billion from P11.13 billion. 

The BSP’s assets increased 28.3% to P7.634 trillion as of May from P5.951 trillion a year earlier. 

Its total liabilities also jumped P29% to P7.488 trillion from P5.804 trillion in the same period of 2020. 

With this, the central bank’s net worth stood at P145.47 billion at end-May, lower by 0.4% from the P146.12 billion seen a year earlier. — LWTN 

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