Philippine banks' net profit up 3.6% to P300.4B in first 9 months

Philippine banks' net profit increased by 3.6% to P300.4 billion in the first nine months of the year.

This growth was driven by resilient net interest margins that expanded at a double-digit pace, despite declining interest rates.

Total assets of Philippine banks expanded by 8% to P28.8 trillion, while deposits grew by 7% to P21 trillion during the same period.

Lenders managed to grow profits even as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) started a rate-cutting cycle, which is now expected to deepen.

The BSP unexpectedly cut its policy rate by a quarter point to 4.75% in October, with further easing signaled due to mounting economic challenges.

Despite the profit increase, banks significantly boosted provisions for credit losses by 56.7% to P134.35 billion.

Digital banks, however, reported a combined net loss of P3.971 billion.