State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) registered a net income of P5.28 billion last year, from P4.13-billion in 2012, or a 27.85% growth rate buoyed by significant increases in deposits, loans to borrowers and investments.
DBP’s deposit levels improved from P176.92-billion in 2012 to P251.08-billion last year, or a growth of 41.92%. Loans to borrowers increased by 7% from P118.93-billion in 2012 to P127.37-billion. Investments jumped from P97.74-billion in 2012 to P145.75-billion in 2013.
Total assets increased to P436.1-billion from P361.08-billion in 2012. Capital adequacy ratio based on Basel II stood at 24.33% as of December 2013.
“2013 was a great year, but challenges lie ahead such as the ever increasing industry competition and stricter capital regulations,” said DBP president and chief executive officer Gil A. Buenaventura.
He emphasized that the bank has geared up to support the inclusive growth strategy of the National Government as stated in the Philippine Development Plan. DBP at present finances projects under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) program of national government agencies. It now plans to expand its PPP financing program to include projects of local government units.
DBP continues to provide financing to projects in the priority areas of infrastructure and logistics, social services, protection of the environment, micro small and medium enterprises. This year, DBP will increase its number of branches to 102 and expand the number of its ATMs in key locations nationwide. It also plans to offer more customer-oriented products and services and increase business lines to fulfill its SME mandate.
Fitch Ratings has affirmed DBP’s ratings at BB+ based on stable deposit basis, satisfactory liquidity, high core capitalization, and rising loan reserves. Standard and Poor’s (S&P) has also upgraded DBP’s long-term issuer credit ratings to BBB- from BB+, with stable outlook; and the bank’s short-term issuer credit rating to A-3 from B. S&P cited DBP’s critical public policy role in supporting the economic and social development of the Philippines and the bank’s integral link to the government.
Buenaventura added that, “The DBP continues to be well-capitalized and will continue to focus on the bank’s natural government ecosystem — the water districts, electric cooperatives, and local government units. As we support the priorities of government, DBP will also tap public-private partnership projects and other large infrastructure projects for their financing needs.”