RCBC income hits all-time high in 2023

February 28, 2024 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. grew its net income by 15 percent to hit a record P12.22 billion in 2023, fueled by faster-than-industry loan and deposit growth.

“RCBC saw another breakthrough year in our financial performance, complemented with more recognitions in digital banking and customer service,” RCBC president and CEO Eugene Acevedo said a statement.

The Yuchengco-led bank said customer loans went up by 15 percent to P622 billion, outpacing the industry average.

The growth was driven by the solid 29-percent jump in the consumer segment, fueled by credit card and housing loans.

“The bank saw tremendous success in data-driven acquisition campaigns, with credit cards consistently outperforming industry in both balances and billings with 48 percent and 45 percent growth, respectively,” RCBC said.

According to RCBC, its housing loans business recorded the highest bookings to date, boosting the portfolio by 22 percent from 2022.

On the asset quality side, tighter credit policies and prudent remedial management kept the bank’s gross non-performing loan (NPL) ratio low at 3.34 percent in 2023, an improvement from 3.75 percent in 2022.

Furthermore, the bank’s deposit base reached P957 billion as current and savings account (CASA) deposits surged by 19 percent, outpacing the industry’s three percent increase.

“The bank’s cash management and payroll solutions, alongside extensive business relationships, provided the double-digit uplift in low-cost CASA deposits,” the bank said.

With total assets of over P1.2 trillion, RCBC solidified its position as the fifth largest private bank in the country.

Supporting the balance sheet expansion, capital rose by 31percent on the back of the capital infusion by Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. in July 2023.

RCBC’s capital adequacy ratio stood at 17.37 percent and common equity tier 1 ratio at 14.69 percent, both above regulatory requirements.

“We will intensify the use of AI and data science across the bank to guide our product innovation and exceptional service delivery,” Acevedo said.

As of end-2023, RCBC had a total consolidated network of 458 branches, 1,460 ATMs and 5,779 ATM Go terminals strategically located nationwide.