BDO Unibank, Inc. business franchise remained robust and resilient despite the continuing challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic as it posted increased earnings in 2020 and the first quarter of 2021.
In the Bank’s Annual Stockholders’ Meeting held today virtually, BDO President Nestor V. Tan reported the Bank’s full-year 2020 and first quarter 2021 results at P28.2 billion and P10.4 billion, respectively.
BDO demonstrated operational resilience and grew its balance sheet amid the difficult operating environment in 2020. Net income was lower vs. 2019, mainly due to pre-emptive provisions of P30.2 billion set aside against potential pandemic-induced delinquencies. However, the Bank’s pre-provisioning operating profit remained solid with 17 per cent Year-on-Year (YoY) growth over 2019.
For the first three (3) months of 2021, net income was at P10.4 billion up by 19 per cent from a year-ago on the robust performance from service fee businesses that compensated for the weak demand for loans.
Loans dipped by one (1) per cent YoY to P2.2 trillion, while total deposits went up by two (2) per cent to P2.6 trillion, underpinned by the 11 per cent rise in CASA deposits, with the CASA ratio hitting a record 83 per cent.
Non-interest income recovered driven by the strong performance of wealth management and life insurance businesses, as well as the normalization of trading and forex gains. Operating expenses were relatively flat compared to last year.
The Bank set aside an additional P2.9 billion in provisions even as the 1Q21 NPL ratio of 2.81% remained within expectations, and is still below the three (3) per cent NPL ratio projected for end-2020. NPL coverage is now at 107.1 per cent, more than adequate to cover for potential losses.
The Bank’s capital base strengthened to P400.9 billion with Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) and Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) at 14.7 per cent and 13.6 per cent, respectively, both comfortably above regulatory levels and deemed sufficient to withstand near-term shocks. The Bank’s Book Value per common share stood at P89.89, up 7.8 per cent from year-ago levels.
BDO remains resilient in the face of the continuing challenges of the health crisis and will continue to strengthen its business franchise and invest in its digital infrastructure with the ongoing implementation of the Bank’s strategic programs.
