Philippine National Bank (PSE: PNB) announced a robust start to 2025, posting a consolidated net income of P6.1 billion for the first three months, marking a significant 15% increase compared to the same period last year.
The bank’s core income also demonstrated strong growth, reaching P14.1 billion in the first quarter of 2025, a 10% rise year-on-year. This growth was significantly driven by an expanding net interest margin (NIM), which climbed by 9% to P12.7 billion. This positive trend reflects the successful combination of an expanding loan portfolio and strategic management of treasury assets.
Further bolstering its financial performance, PNB saw its other income increase substantially to P1.9 billion in the first quarter of 2025, up from P1.2 billion in the corresponding period last year. This notable increase was primarily fueled by favorable gains from trading and foreign exchange activities, as well as strategic sales of foreclosed properties.
Operating expenses saw a 10% increase to P8.1 billion as the bank continued to invest in the growth of its consumer business segment. Similarly, taxes and licenses rose in line with the bank’s increased business volume.
Notably, PNB significantly reduced its provision for impairment losses to million, a substantial 55% decrease compared to the previous year. This improvement underscores the enhanced quality of the bank’s loan portfolio, a result of strengthened credit underwriting standards and prudent management practices.
PNB President Florido Casuela commented, “Our first-quarter financial results for this year highlight the underlying strength of PNB’s franchise across both our wholesale and retail operations. Even excluding the impact of non-recurring gains from the sale of foreclosed assets, the consistent growth in our core income is a key driver of our current earning momentum. We are confident that the quality of our earnings will continue to improve as the foundations we have established will support sustained stability and accelerated growth for the bank.”
As of March 31, 2025, PNB’s total assets stood at trillion, a 2% increase from the end of December 2024. Net loans and receivables grew to billion, while deposit liabilities reached billion.
Adding to its positive momentum, Moody’s Investors Service recently upgraded PNB’s credit rating to Baa2, moving it one notch above investment grade from Baa3. The agency also revised its rating outlook to Stable from Positive. Moody’s cited PNB’s continuous improvement in core profitability, driven by NIM expansion and lower credit costs, alongside its robust capital and solid liquidity, as key factors providing sufficient buffers against modest asset quality.
PNB’s commitment to excellence was further recognized through multiple awards in 2025. The Asset magazine bestowed two Triple A awards: one for the Parent Bank’s ‘Best Sustainability Bond – Financial Institution’ for its US$300 million sustainability bond issuance, and another for its subsidiary, PNB Capital Inc., as a domestic underwriter for the ‘Best IPO Award’ for Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. This US$300 million 5-year Sustainability Bond in October 2024 marked PNB’s successful return to the offshore bond market after a five-year interval. PNB Capital was also lauded for its role as a domestic underwriter in Citicore Renewable Energy Corporation’s -billion initial public offering, which was recognized as the ‘Best IPO’.
Furthermore, PNB Trust Banking Group’s Profit Peso Bond Fund was recently recognized as one of the ‘Best Managed Funds for 2025′ in the Intermediate Term Bond Fund category at the CFA Society Philippines’ “Vision 2025: Market Forecast and Fund Excellence” event. This award acknowledged funds demonstrating superior performance based on key metrics, including risk-adjusted returns for actively managed funds and tracking error for index funds.
