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Thursday, February 13, 2003
Landbank net income climbs 10% to P1.65B
By Cherry T. Lim
LAND Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) posted net income of P1.65 billion in 2002, up 10 percent from P1.5 billion in 2001.
And this despite increasing its loans to the agricultural sector, traditionally deemed a high-risk sector.
In documents furnished Sun.Star, Landbank president and chief executive officer Gary Teves attributed the bank’s income growth to the 15 percent cut in its expenses, from P18.9 billion to P16.1 billion, which more than offset the reduction in our gross revenues, from P19.9 billion to P17.6 billion.”
He reported that Landbank’s “most significant accomplishment in 2002” was reinforcing its commitment to its mandate.
As a result, total agriculture and agrarian reform-related loans in 2002 reached P50.7 billion, up 25 percent from the P40.5 billion extended in 2001, he said.
The loans went to farmers’ cooperatives (P12.2 billion), micro, small and medium enterprises (P14.9 billion), agribusiness (P12.5 billion), agri-infrastructure loans to local government units (P7.1 billion) and agriculture-related and environmental conservation projects (P4 billion).
Last year’s agri-agra loans represented an expanded share of 45 percent of the bank’s total loan portfolio of P112.6 billion, from 38 percent in 2001, Teves said.
The Landbank executive also reported total resources rising 13 percent to P255 billion last year largely on account of the 13 percent increase in its deposits to P179.6 billion and the 30 percent hike in its bills payable to P35 billion.
Capital also grew 10 percent to P20.7 billion.
As a result, the government bank remains “one of the top five banks in the country in terms of assets, loans, deposits and capital,” he said.
Bad loans
On the matter of non-performing loans, Teves reported a reduction to P25.1 billion from P26.8 billion at the end of 2001.
However, he admitted that real and other properties owned or acquired (ropoa) rose 26 percent to P15.6 billion from P12.4 billion in 2001.
The bank is now pursuing aggressive approaches to dispose of this ropoa, including focused marketing efforts on the bigger-ticket assets, expansion of the distribution network for retail properties and outsourcing of necessary expertise.
(February 13, 2003 issue)
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