Is the era of record earnings coming to a close? Not quite, said BPI president and CEO Jose Teodoro “TG” Limcaoco, even as he acknowledged earnings data showing a slowdown across major lenders.
“Banks will continue to do well but… the growth rate in earnings is slowing down and that’s because rates are coming off and therefore to compensate [net interest margins] you’ve got to broaden your market,” Limcaoco said during BPI's 174th anniversary celebrations last week.
“It’s not double-digit but it continues to grow and you’ll see that going forward,” added Limcaoco, who oversaw three straight years of record profitability while CEO.
Earnings growth slows during the first half of 2025
BPI, the country’s oldest lender, saw profits expand by 7.8 percent to P33 billion during the first six months of the year.
This has moderated from its 21.5 percent profit surge in the same period last year.
Its net interest earnings grew by 16.2 percent, down from 22.2 percent in 2024.
Peers such as BDO Unibank, the country’s biggest bank by assets, and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. also saw profit growth rates slow from double-digit gains in 2024.
BPI outperforms peers
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas cut rates for a second time on June 19, in line with forecasts by economists, according to a report by Bloomberg News.
This follows a rate easing cycle that started in August last year.
“Other banks have not seen as significant growth as we continue to see growth,” said Limcaoco.
“I think the corporate sector remains resilient. I think the consumer sector remains resilient,” he added.
Consumer segment in focus
A bright spot in its lending portfolio is the non-institutional sector, which surged 26.9 percent in the first half.
“That reflects our focus on the consumer,” he said.
Jenny Lacerna, head of mass retail at BPI, told InsiderPH they’ve observed an “uptick” in affluent card spending, and that efforts to expand their card market—what they dubbed as “universe expansion”—are showing returns.
She said BPI has two million primary cardholders, but this segment grows to about three million when counting supplementary and dual cardholders.
AP Securities: BPI is a “Buy”
AP Securities is bullish on BPI, citing its strategic push into consumer lending and confidence in managing credit risks amid rate cuts.
Research head Alfred Benjamin R. Garcia maintained their buy rating on BPI with a price target of P156.43 per share.
He noted that BPI’s shift toward consumer lending is expected to lift asset yields following the recent 50-basis point rate cut.
“However, we acknowledge that there tends to be a lag in the effect of rate cuts on consumer loans, but with such caveat that BPI would be able to synergize non-institutional loan growth with proper provisions,” he said.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
