The banking arm of bilyonaryo Alfredo Yao’s Philippine Business Bank (PBB) reported a 58 percent jump in its first quarter profit to P488.8 million on the back of robust contributions from its risk assets.
Although core income was down slightly to P718.5 million from last year’s P732.3 million, PBB’s net interest income grew 23.4 percent to P1.6 billion.
Meanwhile, loans and receivables increased by 16 percent to P103.6 billion.
PBB’s chief operating officer Cynthia Almirez attributed the bank’s solid performance to seizing opportunities in the treasury market and generating trading gains of P108.7 million in the first quarter.
Despite global market uncertainties, domestic challenges, and interest rate hikes, Almirez emphasized that PBB remained resilient, committed to delivering long-term value for clients and shareholders, and striving to become the preferred bank of small and medium-sized enterprises.
PBB’s recent private placement and stock rights offering raised P1.75 billion in capital, putting the bank in a favorable position to capitalize on market opportunities and enhance its ability to grow its loan and investment securities portfolio, which is expected to boost its income for the year.
