THE Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) has reported a net income of P15.5 billion for 2018, on the back of the increases in its net loan portfolio for the year.
LandBank President and CEO Alex V. Buenaventura told financial reporters that the bank has recorded a net income of P15.5 billion for 2018, increasing by 10 percent compared to the P14.1 billion reported in 2017.
“We achieved exceptional performance in 2018 with our net loan portfolio expanding significantly by 37 percent or more than P220 billion to reach
P840 billion,” Buenaventura said.
If not for the increases in manpower costs for the year, Buenaventura pointed out, the Bank’s net income would have been higher than P15.5 billion in line with its reported growth in loans.
“However, we incurred a significant increase in manpower cost last year because of the implementation of the salary standardization law which affected our income,” he added.
LandBank also reported that its deposit base grew by 17 percent in 2018, amounting to P1.66 trillion from P1.42 trillion in 2017, on the back of increased private sector and government deposits, while its capital also increased by 26 percent to P131.62 billion from P104.6 billion.
For 2019, Buenaventura remains optimistic this year will be a good year as the bank sees the lowering of interest rates from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, which will move business
development.
LandBank is eyeing a P16.6-billion net income for 2019.
“Very much better this year because we foresee lowering of interest rates, inflation is tempering down, and low interest rates is the prime mover of business development. That’s the main driver of growth in 2019,” Buenaventura said.