PBB net income drops to P221.56M

PHILIPPINE Business Bank (PBB) recorded a 62.45% drop in its net income in the first quarter, largely due to trading losses as the Middle East war caused market volatility.

The bank’s net income stood at P221.56 million in the three months ended March, down from P590.022 million in the same period last year, it said in a disclosure to the stock exchange on Wednesday.

PBB’s first quarter financial performance translated to a return on equity of 4.19% and a return on assets of 0.53%, both down from 9.36% and 1.13%, respectively as of end-2025.

“The outlook for 2026 was drastically upended by the flare-up of hostilities in the Middle East. This major global disruption heightened macroeconomic risks, elevated oil prices, and increased inflationary pressure. These effects compounded the still lingering impact of the flood control scandal to the local economy that largely factored into the sluggish 3% Christmas quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth,” PBB Vice Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer Rolando R. Avante said.

“With this backdrop, the year ahead looks to be an uphill landscape for the banking industry.”

Net interest income rose by 3.2% year on year to P1.88 billion in the first quarter from P1.83 billion. Interest earnings decreased by 1.23% to P2.84 billion, while interest expense slid by 8.92% to P957.62 billion.

PBB booked a net interest margin of 4.76% at end-March, up from 4.64% a year prior.

Meanwhile, other income increased by 6.54% to P249.93 million in the period. This came even in the absence of a net trading gain versus the P13.386-million gain the prior year.

“Other income, excluding trading gains and losses, grew by 13.0%, mainly driven by loan-related fees,” Mr. Avante said.

Core income reached P952.3 million.

Meanwhile, other expenses rose 33.33% to P1.54 billion in the first quarter from P1.15 billion the prior year.

This resulted in a cost-to-income ratio of 66.38% at end-March.

The bank also set aside impairment losses amounting to P200 million in the first quarter, up by 14.29% from P175 million in the same period last year.

PBB’s total loans and receivables stood at P125.73 billion as of end-March, up by 1.52% from P127.66 billion at end-2025.

On the funding side, total deposits inched down by 0.38% to P134.44 billion from P134.95 billion.

PBB’s assets stood at P164.03 billion as of March, expanding by 2.86% year on year from P168.86 billion.

Total equity inched down by 0.38% to P21.09 billion from P21.17 billion.

“For the rest of the year, the bank will continue its strategy of margin-driven growth, focusing on commercial relationship quality and growing our higher-margin consumer business. For our commercial business, we will continue to strengthen the delivery of solutions to our clients and grow our business with them on the liability side of the balance sheet. For our consumer business, we will push the trajectory of our Makaguro loans and develop other select higher margin businesses,” Mr. Avante said.

PBB’s shares closed at P7.32 apiece on Wednesday, up by seven centavos or 0.97% from the previous day’s finish. — Aaron Michael C. Sy