Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation posted an unaudited consolidated net income of P2.53 billion for the first half of 2015, 25.29% higher than the P2.02 billion net income for the same period last year. Annualized Return on Equity and Return on Assets stood at 9.3% and 1.1% respectively.
Net Interest Income reached P7.45 billion and represented 63% of Gross Income which increased by 12.4% to P11.8 billion. The Bank achieved an Annualized Net Interest Margin (NIM) of 4.2% which remains one of the highest in the sector.
Core lending business is sustained with loan book excluding interbank loans expanding by 18% to P275.7 billion. All market segments sustained their growth with average loan volumes of corporate, consumer, and SME increasing by 20%, 18% and 30%, respectively. SME loans now comprise 12% of the bank’s total loan portfolio as planned. Meanwhile, microfinance lending thru Rizal Microbank continued its consistent climb with outstanding loan portfolio increasing by 46%. The interest income from the lending business contributed 83% of the total interest income of the Bank.
Despite the sustained growth momentum in loans, asset quality remained well-managed with Parent Bank NPL Ratio of 0.24% while Parent Bank NPL Cover also stood strong at 159.13%.
Other operating income went up by 50.21% at P4.30 billion with securities trading gains contributing P1.72 billion. Total fee-based and miscellaneous income increased by 23.23% to P2.53 billion. Improved contributions came from investment banking-related income which increased by 198%, bancassurance which went up by 148%, and fees from loan-related transactions which increased by 37%.
“Clearly, RCBC is on-track. We are advancing on all front: from core lending to deposits to fee-based income. We are pleased with our 1H15 numbers but we will continue to double our efforts in satisfying our customers and shareholders,” said RCBC President and CEO, Lorenzo V. Tan.