Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) headed by bankero TG Limcaoco has gifted shareholders with a P1.06 per share cash dividend for the first semester of the year.
The record data for the cash dividend is June 1 and the payment date is on June 22.
Likewise, the Board of Directors of the Ayala-led bank approved a dividend policy based on a dividend payout ratio of 35 percent to 50 percent of the previous year’s earnings.
The 170-year old lender said the final dividend payout ratio will be determined subject to compliance with regulatory limits for common equity tier – 1 (CET-1) ratio and common adequacy ratio (CAR) as well as compliance with internal thresholds on capital and liquidity.
Likewise, the Ayala-led bank also need to maintain sufficient capital to support its medium-term growth targets, with a buffer for a downward scenario, prior to granting a dividend pay out.
The net income of BPI soared 59.6 percent to P8 billion as total revenues inched up by 4.3 percent to P25.4 billion in the first quarter of the year.
The strong performance from January to March this year was attributed to higher net interest income, lower loss provisions, and normalized tax expenses, after last year’s one-time tax adjustments upon effectivity of Republic Act 11534 or the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprise Act (CREATE) law.
BPI’s net interest earnings increased by 12.7 percent to P19 billion, on the back of an 11 basis point expansion in net interest margin to 3.42 percent, while non-interest income decreased by 14.5 percent to P6.4 billion, owing to lower securities trading gains, service charges, bank commissions, and underwriting fees.
On the other hand, expenses grew by 6.5 percent to P12.6 billion due to
broad increases in all cost categories as the volume of transactions picked up, given the economic reopening and relaxed mobility restrictions.
According to the listed bank, provision for credit losses fell by 30.6 percent to P2.5 billion in the first quarter of the year from P3.6 billion in the same quarter last year.
