November 11, 2022San Miguel Corporation (SMC) affiliate Bank of Commerce (BankCom) registered a net income of ₽1.49 billion for the period ended 30 September 2022, more than double the P626 million it reported in the same period last year. The bank’s strong performance was driven mainly by higher revenues from an expanded portfolio of products and services, including investment banking, following its recent upgrade to universal banking status. Quarter-on-quarter, profit was up 46% to ₽601.58 million from the ₽526.32 million posted in the second quarter of 2022. Total revenues grew by 25% to ₽5.82 billion, ₽1.17 billion higher from the previous year’s ₽4.65 billion, mainly driven by sustained uptrends in net interest income, foreign exchange gains, and service charges, fees and commissions. Net interest income rose to P829M, backed by continued expansion in its loan portfolio. Additionally, the bank successfully raised two-year bonds last July 2022, which partially augmented its interest expenses. Total other income surged to ₽1.01 billion, 52% up from the ₽662.04 million in the comparable year. The growth is mainly due to a 4.58x increase in foreign exchange amounting to ₽114.31 million versus the ₽20.50 million in the same period last year. Service charges, fees and commissions also grew by 43% to ₽550.59 million resulting from the higher LC fees, ATM fees as well as trust fees due to higher Assets Under Management (14% up). Adding to the growth is the selling/agency fee from the Bank’s first investment banking deal worth ₽40 billion of bond issuance of San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corporation–one of the largest Philippine corporate bond issuances this year, by far. Meanwhile, gains on foreclosure, and sale of property and equipment and foreclosed assets, increased by 25% to ₽287.93 million, due to higher sales of foreclosed assets. Miscellaneous income also posted a growth of 1.57x to ₽90.75 million compared to ₽35.38 million in the same period last year, mainly from income on recovery on charged-off asset. On account of the reversal of provisions, the Bank’s provision for credit and impairment losses is at -₱76.91 million reflecting the continuing improvement in the credit quality of the Bank’s portfolio. As of 30 September 2022, total assets reached ₽204.79 billion, a 3% increase from the ₽199.71 billion in 31 December 2021, led by growth in loan volume. Loans stood at ₽92.47 billion, 24% higher than end-2021’s ₽74.37 billion, largely driven by the rise in corporate loans. Investment securities at amortized cost and financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income posted 13% and 12% increases to ₽48.57 billion and ₽5.64 billion, respectively. Total capital rose 17% to ₽27.43 billion from the ₽23.36 billion at end-December 2021 mainly due to the issuance of common shares in 1Q22. CAR stood at 18.57% as of 30 September 2022, well above the BSP’s minimum requirement.