THE Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) saw its net income rise 70 percent in the first quarter of 2023 on the back of double-digit growth in total resources, consumer loans and credit card receivables.
The lender announced through a statement that its unaudited consolidated net income reached over P3.6 billion. Total resources grew 20 percent year-on-year to P1.2 trillion in the first three months of the year.
RCBC said there was a “steady build-up” of earning assets: customer loans went up 10 percent and investment securities higher by 27 percent.
“Accounting for 18 percent of asset growth for the period, the bank’s loan portfolio focused on higher yielding segments, such as SME, higher by 18 percent, consumer loans up by 14 percent and credit card receivables higher by 46 percent.”
The lender has added ten physical branches as of March to 462 from 452 as of end-September last year. It also increased by 58 the number of its automated teller machines (ATMs) to 1,371 as of March from 1,313 in September, 2022.
As of March, RCBC has 1,784 “ATM Go” terminals, up 312 from 1,472 as of end-September last year.
Data science
MEANWHILE, the lender said its credit card billings increased by 67 percent, which was facilitated by its digital platform. Data analytics allowed for strong acquisition in the first quarter with 44 percent more new card issuances while keeping card delinquency rates within industry levels, the bank added.
The bank’s asset quality also showed marked improvement, returning to pre-pandemic levels at 1.99 percent net NPL as of end-March 2023.
To note, RCBC’s net nonperforming loan (NPL) hit 2.2 percent in the first quarter of 2020 compared to 2.6 percent in the same period in 2019.
Supporting the asset build-up strategy was the solid increase in deposits by 27 percent to P859 billion, boosted by the 17 percent rise in CASA deposits.
The bank’s comprehensive suite of cash management services and extensive corporate and SME banking relationships continued to provide the uplift in CASA.
“We are reinforcing our sales network to enable wider and efficient coverage, guided by data science and analytics to further understand customer needs and serve them better,” RCBC President and CEO Eugene S. Acevedo said.
Synergy, collaboration
THE bank’s capital also improved by 7 percent, keeping capital adequacy ratios above minimum regulatory requirements.
With the upcoming P27.1 billion capital infusion from the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (SMBC), the bank expects 300 to 400 basis points of uplift in CET1 ratios to further support its asset expansion.
“There are many opportunities for synergy and collaboration with SMBC, some of which we have been actively pursuing in the past few months,” Acevedo added “By adopting SMBC’s global best practices, we seek to redefine banking as a whole and raise the bar for customer experience.”
On Thursday, the shares of RCBC (traded as RCB) was at P23.60 per share, a 1.26 percent decline. Shares opened at P23.85 per share and reached a high of P24 per share and a low of P23 per share. The average 52-week high of RCBC shares was P28.3 per share while the 52-week low is P18.84 per share.