The chairman of the Board of Directors of China Banking Corp. led by bankero William Whang is beefing up his shareholdings in the listed bank.
China Bank chairman Hans Sy spent P267,360 to acquire 10,000 shares of China Bank with a price range of P26.70 to P26.80 per share last June 13.
This brings his shareholdings in the bank owned by his family to 1.54 million direct shares and 3.72 million indirect shares.
The earnings of the Sy-led bank jumped by 37 percent to P4.9 billion in the first quarter of the year from P3.6 billion in the same quarter last year as the Philippine economy continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bank reported a 15 percent increase in net interest income P10.8 billion in the first quarter of the year from a year-ago level of P9.3 billion on the back of higher earning assets and lower interest expense.
Its net interest margin further improved to 4.3 percent.
China Bank’s total revenues slipped by two percent to P12.5 billion from P12.7 billion as lower trading gains compressed fee-based income to P1.7 billion, or 50 percent lower than last year’s P3.4 billion.
The bank owned by the family of the late retail and banking magnate Henry Sy booked a 65 percent drop in provisions for credit losses to P780 million, reflecting an improved macro-economic outlook.
Despite the decline, China Bank’s resulting non-performing loan (NPL) coverage was higher at 119 percent, while its NPL ratio improved to 2.5 percent form 3.8 percent.
The bank also reported an eight percent decline in operating expenses to P5.7 billion from P6.2 billion amid prudent cost management. This translated to an improved cost efficiency ratio of 46 percent.
