State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines’ (DBP) net income reached P1.57-billion in the first quarter of 2019, surging by 44 percent from the P1.09-billion posted during the same period last year on the back of strong earnings from lending activities, a top official said.
DBP president and chief executive officer Emmanuel G. Herbosa said the bank’s net income growth was fueled largely by interest income which grew by 23 percent to P3.9-billion from P3.2-billion in the first quarter of 2018.
“DBP has maintained a strong financial position this year while remaining true to its developmental mandate by lending to key sectors of the economy,” Herbosa said. “We are on track to meet our full-year target.”
DBP is the eighth largest bank in the country and provides loans to strategic sectors such as infrastructure and logistics, small and medium enterprises, social services and community development, and the environment. It has a total 137 branches including 10 branch lite offices that cater mostly to underserved communities in the country.
Herbosa said total assets have grown to P635.6-billion in the first quarter of 2019, which is P17.6-billion, or 2.85 percent higher than the P618-billion recorded in March 2018.
He said DBP’s net worth stood at P54-billion as of end-March this year while total capital adequacy ratio is 14.01 percent, higher than the industry level of 11.89 percent.
Development Lending Expansion
Herbosa said the bank expanded its development lending activities as gross loan portfolio grew by 7.71 percent to P323.18-billion for the first three months of the year compared to the P300-billion recorded during the same period in 2018.
He said bulk of the DBP’s loans or about P118.39-billion went to infrastructure and logistics projects, while the Bank’s loans to social services projects amounted to P49.2-billion, and about P17.24-billion for environment projects.
“Initiatives in these priority sectors also supported businesses in the SME sector which received almost P22-billion,” Herbosa said, adding that DBP “…continued to support agriculture and other developmental projects with over P90.6-billion in financial assistance…”
Herbosa said DBP was recently cited as the second most aggressive lender in the country for the first quarter of 2019, which generally reflects the Bank’s optimism on the growth prospects of the Philippine economy.
Healthy Deposit Growth
Herbosa said total deposits reached P446-billion for the first three months of the year, showing a 4.09 percent increase from the P428.46-billion in the same period last year owing to, or driven by, aggressive marketing activities of its branches.
He said Current Account-Savings Account Average Daily Balance (CASA ADB) grew year-on-year by 12.7 percent, from P180.59-billion to P203.53-billion, while total deposit ADB went up 11.3 percent, from P386.79-billion to P430.33-billion.
“DBP posted double-digit growth rates on CASA ADB in the areas of Metro Manila (32.3 percent), Southern Luzon (16.3 percent), Central and Eastern Visayas (15 percent), and Western Visayas (11.8 percent),” Herbosa said.
The bank also posted double-digit growth rates on total deposit ADB in the areas of Metro Manila (30.5 percent), Southern Luzon (25.2 percent), Central and Eastern Visayas (14.3 percent), and Western Visayas (12.58 percent),” Herbosa said.
DBP also added 39 automated teller machines (ATMs) in the first quarter of the year, expanding its ATM network to 828, most of which are located in unbanked areas of the archipelago.
Herbosa said DBP would strengthen linkages with traditional development partners such as rural banks to broaden its financial inclusion initiatives especially in marginalized areas such as Mindanao.