2022 February – BDO Unibank, Inc. (BDO) recorded a net income of ₱42.8 billion in 2021 against ₱28.2 billion in 2020, an increase of 51%.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Key highlights of the Bank’s performance:

• Earnings continue improvement on the strength of sustainable and resilient businesses. Return on Average Common Equity (ROE) is at 10.5%, up from 7.6% in 2020.
• Asset quality stabilizing. NPL ratio down to 2.8% compared to 3.1% in 3Q21, with coverage higher at 111% despite normalized provisions.
• Digital initiatives remain a priority. Investments in digital capabilities continue to improve product functionalities and end-to-end processing capabilities, providing better customer experience.

BDO’s full year profits were buoyed by an 11% increase in non-interest income and normalized provisions. This reflects the bank’s operational resiliency notwithstanding COVID-19-related headwinds depressing loan activity for much of 2021.

Overall business conditions appeared to be improving late 2021 however, with loan growth accelerating to 6%, ahead of the industry’s 5%, as government began to ease quarantine protocols and mobility restrictions.

For the full year, total deposits rose 8% YoY, driven by the 13% YoY expansion in Current Account/Savings Account (CASA) deposits—a testament to the strength of the overall franchise.

Total capital base increased to ₱424.5 billion while the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) was at 14.6%, comfortably above the regulatory minimum. Book value per share increased 8% to ₱95.26, from ₱88.11 in 2020.

Throughout the pandemic, BDO continued to ensure the safety of customers and employees, especially with banking considered an essential economic service. Approximately 99% of BDO employees are fully vaccinated, with an additional 47% receiving booster shots in the last two months.

The Bank continues to invest in its digital infrastructure, allowing it to make banking services more accessible and easier to use. In addition to the mobile wallet BDO Pay that was launched early last year, BDO clients can also avail of fully digital account opening, paperless in-branch transactions, and card-less ATM banking using biometrics and QR codes.

The rollout of the QR-based branch processing now covers approximately 65% of the network with full completion targeted by mid-year. The QR-based processing allows for 80% of branch transactions to be processed straight-through end-to-end significantly improving branch productivity and customer experience.

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