Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company (Metrobank) recorded a 95% increase to P7.6 billion in its earnings in the first half of 2022 while its net profit saw a 33% increase in net profit to P15.6 billion.

Gross loans rose by 9% year-on-year to P1.3 trillion, led by a 12% growth in corporate and commercial lending and 16% increase in gross credit card receivables. Asset quality improved with NPLs declining by 7%. The ratio of NPLs to total loans stood at 1.9% in the first half, down from the 2.3% a year ago and significantly below the industry’s 3.9% NPL ratio (Non-performing loans) in May.

“This enabled the Bank to further trim down provisions by 46% in the first half,” the Bank said in a media advisory. “Metrobank’s NPL cover stood strong at 196%, a hefty buffer to protect the bank against market risks.”

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Total deposits grew 13% to P2.1 trillion. CASA deposits climbed by 10% to P1.5 trillion from a year ago, which resulted in lower funding costs. As net interest margin recovered to 3.4%, net interest income increased by 6% to P39.8 billion.

Non-interest income went up by 8% in the first half driven by an 18% jump in fees and other non-interest earnings. Despite volatile markets, the Bank managed to post P3.4 billion profit from trading income from strong customer driven flows.

Amid a rise in the Bank’s transaction volumes, operating expenses remained in control and stayed flat at P29.4 billion, backed by on-going efforts to improve operational efficiency, resulting in 53.8% cost-to-income ratio, an improvement from the 57.2% posted in the same period last year.

The recovery in the Bank’s revenues alongside stable costs led to a 16% rise in pre-provisioning profit to P25.6 billion.