By James A. Loyola

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) reported a decline in consolidated net income to P3.2 billion for the first nine months of 2018 from the P3.4 billion earned in the same period last year.

In a statement, the bank said that, excluding non-recurring income (trading gains), core income grew 42 percent compared to last year coming from stronger core business led by double-digit growth in net interest income by 12 percent and in fee-based income by 15 percent.

The bank’s combined net interest income and fee-based income now comprise 91 percent of gross income.

Net interest income reached P14.7 billion with 12 percent growth year-on-year as the bank’s loan growth remained strong across all segments, expanding by 12 percent to P379 billion.

All market segments sustained their growth. Average loan volume of the corporate segment grew by 9 percent, SME segment by 32 percent, Consumer segment by 33 percent with growth in Credit Card Receivables by 33 percent.

Rizal MicroBank (RMB), the microfinance arm of the Bank, increased its average loan portfolio by 20 percent year on year, through continuous efforts to enhance its current loan products.

Despite the sustained growth momentum in loans, the Bank’s asset quality remained well-managed with consolidated non-performing loan Ratios of 1.22 percent, better than the 1.41 percent in the same period last year.

NPL coverage improved to 96.94 percent from previous year’s 77.39 percent at the consolidated level, and a healthier 141.84 percent at the parent bank level.