RIZAL Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) reported a 33-percent rise in its net income in the first nine months of the year, due largely to higher consumer loans and deposits during the period.
The bank said its net income hit P5.3 billion for the first nine months of 2021, as “business momentum” continued to accelerate with strong double-digit growth of 13 percent in customer loans and 30 percent in low-cost deposits.
The lender’s investment securities jumped 2.9 times and fee income increased by 39 percent reflecting stable recovery in investments and retail transactions.
RCBC saw significant expansion in its loan book across segments, led by the corporate loan portfolio growing by 17 percent and the small and medium enterprise (SME) portfolio by 18 percent.
The bank also reported higher volume of loan and treasury assets and lower funding costs. These propelled the bank’s net interest income to P 21.2 billion, up by 8 percent from the previous year’s level.
RCBC’s total assets increased by 19 percent to P873 billion, with “loans and receivables” and “investment securities” comprising 60 percent and 22 percent of the total, respectively.
The bank’s capital adequacy ratio (CAR) is at 15.2 percent while its Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio is at 12.1 percent.
The lender also reported a 68-percent increase in new credit cards issued, bringing the total cards-in-force to nearly 910,000 as of end-September. RCBC attributed this strong growth to their investment in digital transformation and data analytics.
“We are excited to further bring fintech [financial technology] innovation across all product lines, as we see a rapid shift in the trajectory of financial services even beyond the pandemic,” RCBC President and CEO Eugene S. Acevedo said.