LandBank posts P15B in Q1 net income, up 65% y-o-y

Land Bank of the Philippines registered a P5.15-billion net income in the first quarter the year, up 65 percent from P3.13 billion a year earlier. In an e-mailed statement, the state-controlled bank noted a confluence of higher revenues and prudent spending helped beef up LandBank’s bottom line. “LandBank’s strong performance in the first quarter of the year is driven by revenues from treasury activities which grew 149 percent to P9.80 billion from P3.94 billion,” said CEO Gilda Pico. “We also maintained our prudent management of operating costs and continued to strengthen other areas of profitability,” she added. Return on equity was 15.04 percent, while the Basel II capital adequacy ratio at 19.65 percent remained higher than the regulatory standard of 10 percent, the bank noted. Capital reached P91.26 billion or 30 percent higher than the P70.10 billion. Deposits grew by 23 percent or P106 billion to P574.65 billion from P468.57 billion, while total assets reached P737.45 billion—or a 22 percent increase from P604.38 billion. LandBank remains the biggest lender to the agricultural sector. According to its CEO, the bank’s priority sectors include small farmers and fisherfolk, micro, small and medium enterprises, and agri- and aqua-related projects of local government units and government-owned and -controlled corporations. Also, the bank said it continues to play a significant role in major government undertaking like the conditional cash transfer program, the Food Supply Chain Program, and the OFW Reintegration Program. President Benigno S. Aquino III signed RA 10374 last month, extending the bank's corporate life by another 50 years. — VS, GMA News