Banco De Oro Unibank, Inc. sustained its growth momentum by posting a net income of P4.1 billion in the first half of 2010, up 94 percent year-on-year from the P2.1 billion earnings recorded in the first half of 2009. This stems from the continued growth in operating income and the judicious management of operating costs.

Net interest income grew 17 percent to P16.7 billion, driven by the 19 percent expansion in gross customer loans to P491.5 billion. Total deposits increased 11 percent to P693.3 billion, as low-cost deposits maintained its upward trend. As a result, net interest margin widened to 4.25 percent in the first half of 2010 from 3.97 percent in the first half of 2009.

Fee-based service activities and treasury income complemented the Bank’s lending and deposit-taking business. Fee-based service income rose 14 percent to P5.2 billion, with contributions from transaction banking, remittance, investment banking, trust, private banking, insurance and credit cards. The Bank was able to capitalize on trading opportunities in the first semester, resulting in trading and foreign exchange gains of P2.6 billion, up 35 percent from the comparable period last year.

Operating expenses had a moderate increase of 7 percent to P17 billion due to larger business volumes and the opening of additional branch sites. The Bank prudently set aside provisions of P3.3 billion leading to a non-performing loan coverage ratio of 82 percent.

Return on Equity (ROE) advanced to 11.1 percent in the first half of 2010 compared to 7.2 percent in the first half of 2009. Retained earnings coupled with a US$250 million capital raising program completed in April boosted Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) to 14.3 percent from 12.8 percent as of March 2010.

With its good performance across all business lines, the Bank is on track to meet its net income target of P8.1 billion for the full year of 2010.