Philippine banks continued to grow in size and profitability in 2017 despite the volatile market conditions and the increasing sophistication of financial products and services around the world, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said on Friday.
In a press statement, the regulator said the local banking system — which it described as “the core of the financial system” — remained sound, as shown by the further strengthening of banks’ balance sheets with positive double¬ digit growth in assets, loans, investments, deposits and capital.
“Banks sustained their profitability which came from strong interest income from lending activities,” the central bank said.
For last year, the banking system posted an annual asset expansion of 11.6 percent to P15.2 trillion, driven by a 16.4-percent loan expansion to P8.9 trillion, and funded by the stable base of deposits which grew by 11.6 percent to P11.7 trillion.
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Meanwhile, net profit went up by 9 percent to P167.6 billion.
Banks also reported an improvement in their average bad loan ratio to 1.7 percent and a strong capital adequacy ratio of 15 percent. They likewise kept sufficient liquidity with adequate stock of high-quality liquid assets as the liquidity coverage ratio registered at 185.3 percent.
