Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) reported a net income of P16.6 billion in the first quarter of 2025, up by 9 percent from P15.3 billion in the same period last year, positioning the bank for another record earnings for 2025.
“Our plan is to have net income this year that will exceed last year’s net income, and if you take a look at our first-quarter results, I think we should be fairly on track,” BPI president and chief executive Jose Teodoro Limcaoco said in news briefing.
Limcaoco said while BPI is seeing headwinds, particularly due to developments overseas that could trigger possible global recession, the “Philippines should be better insulated” than most countries on the back of strong domestic consumption and easing inflation rate.
Meanwhile, Limcaoco attributed the solid performance to higher revenues, which more than offset the impact of the increases in operating expenses and provision for losses.
This result translated into a return on equity and return on assets of 15.35 percent and 2.05 percent, respectively.
Total revenues for the quarter climbed 13.1 percent to P44.7 billion, driven by a 15.3-percent rise in net interest income.
This was supported by an 8.6-percent expansion in the average earning asset base and a 30-basis-point improvement in net interest margin to 4.49 percent.
Non-interest income rose 6.3 percent to P10.3 billion, led by higher credit card fees and transaction-based service charges.
Operating expenses grew 12.7 percent to P20.3 billion, mainly due to increased spending on manpower, technology, and volume-related costs.
Despite this, the bank’s cost-to-income ratio improved slightly to 45.4 percent.
BPI set aside P3 billion in provisions during the quarter. The bank’s non-performing loan (NPL) ratio stood at 2.26 percent, with an NPL coverage ratio of 100.11 percent.
Total assets rose 6.9 percent year-on-year to P3.3 trillion.
Gross loans increased 13.2 percent to P2.3 trillion, led by broad-based growth, particularly in non-institutional loans.
Deposits also grew 6.3 percent to P2.6 trillion, resulting in a loan-to-deposit ratio of 89.4 percent.
Total equity reached P448.6 billion, up 11.3 percent year-on-year, with a common equity tier 1 ratio of 14.69 percent and a capital adequacy ratio of 15.43 percent.
