State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines’ net income jumped 17 percent to P1.23 billion in the first three months from P1.05 billion in the same period last year, a top executive said Friday.
DBP president and chief executive Michael de Jesus said higher interest income from expanded lending activities to critical sectors of the economy as a result of increased economic activity fueled the double-digit growth in its bottomline.
“DBP’s resurgent financial performance in 2023 is an attestation of its stability as a government financial institution,” de Jesus said.
“We shall continue to build on this growth trajectory and carry on our mandate of being a catalyst of growth in areas where economic activities are limited and most needed,” he said.
DBP is the eighth largest bank in the country in terms of assets and remains a relevant and reliable partner of the national government in serving the financing needs of strategic and critical economic sectors, particularly infrastructure and logistics, micro, small and medium enterprises, social services and the environment.
De Jesus said DBP maintained its strong fiscal position, registering a 50-percent increase from its first-quarter net income target of P820 million with gross loan portfolio reaching P547 billion, up by 2 percent from P539 billion recorded in the same period in 2022.
He said that as of end-March this year, loans for infrastructure and logistics totaled P285.235 billion, while the outstanding portfolio for social infrastructure and community development amounted to P107.842 billion.
“Bulk of our releases or about 55.2 percent of the bank’s loan portfolio were released to bankroll infrastructure development initiatives in support of the national government’s ‘Build Better More’ program, majority of which are located in the National Capital Region, Central Visayas, Davao and Central Luzon,” de Jesus said.
De Jesus said the bank also provided P35.82 billion in loans for the agriculture sector, P78.54 billion for other developmental loans such as financial and insurance activities, including manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade and food services, P54.166 billion for environment-related projects and P30.604 billion to support micro, small and medium enterprises.
He said despite the bank’s increase in provision for credit losses by P765 million, it exceeded its target income for the first quarter.
De Jesus said DBP also registered a modest capital increase of 4 percent to P80.179 billion from P76.823 billion recorded in the same period in 2022.
“DBP remains on track to keep its position as one of the most relevant and stable government financial institutions in the country,” de Jesus said.
