The Landbank of the Philippines reported a 16.14 percent growth in total assets to P2.405 trillion as of March 31, from the P2.071T in the same period last year.
The increase was driven by the 16.21 percent growth in deposits to P2.123T from P1.827T in 2020.
Despite the continuing challenges set by the pandemic, Landbank is on track to meet its year-end net income target of P19.68 billion, as net income grew a modest 1.67 percent to P5.48B for the first three months of the year.
Landbank’s capital also rose by 32.44 percent to P194.59B from P146.93B year-on-year. This was backed by the P27.5B infusion of the national government in February under the Bayanihan 2, crafted to bolster the bank’s financial recovery interventions to sectors severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The robust growth of our deposit base coupled with the equity booked from Bayanihan 2 allows us to extend greater financial assistance to our priority sectors, especially to small farmers and fishers, micro, small, and medium enterprises and other key development players,” said Landbank President and Chief Executive Officer Cecilia C. Borromeo.
The bank’s financial ratios have also remained resilient with a return on equity of 10.9 percent – higher than the industry average of 6.61 percent – while return on assets stood at 0.77 percent and net interest margin at 3.11 percent.
As part of its ongoing efforts to support sectors adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, Landbank has so far approved loans amounting to P93.14B under various lending programs as of April 30.
Among these programs include the Interim Rehabilitation Support to Cushion Unfavorably affected Enterprises by Covid-19 lending program with total approved loans of P20.07B for 434 borrowers comprised of 292 MSMEs, 81 cooperatives, 56 large corporations, and five microfinance institutions.
From the initial program fund of P10B, it was previously doubled to P20B and most recently increased further to P50B to accommodate increasing applications.
Under the Restoration and Invigoration package for a Self-Sufficient Economy towards Upgrowth for local government units program, Landbank has approved loans totaling P72.18B for 245 LGUs nationwide to help revive local communities and recover from the adverse economic impact of the pandemic.
Landbank has also approved loans amounting to P889 million to 20 academic institutions under its Access to Academic Development to Empower the Masses towards Endless Opportunities lending program, which aims to boost the capacity of private academic institutions to implement a “study now, pay later” scheme for students. – Press release
