MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Business Bank (PBB) has reported a remarkable surge in net income, reaching P1.9 billion in 2025. This represents a dramatic increase from the P114.2 million recorded the previous year, driven primarily by robust interest income and enhanced operational margins.
Interest income for the bank, which is part of the Zest-O Group founded by Alfredo Yao, skyrocketed to P11.4 billion, up from P807.5 million in 2024. The bank's core income also saw significant growth, settling at P3.5 billion.
President and CEO Rolando Avante attributed the success to a strategic shift, stating the bank focused on "strengthening credit quality and profitability" rather than pursuing aggressive balance sheet expansion. This approach proved effective despite a challenging economic climate characterized by weaker business sentiment and external risks.
Key financial highlights include a profit before tax of P2.5 billion and a pre-tax pre-provision profit of P3.5 billion, underscoring the bank's resilient earnings capacity.
A major factor in the performance was the improvement in net interest margin, which rose to 4.5 percent from 4.3 percent, reflecting better pricing strategies and cost discipline.
The bank's total resources grew to P168.8 billion by the end of 2025. Its loan portfolio reached P127.7 billion, supported by total deposits of P134.9 billion. Asset quality showed marked improvement, with the nonperforming loan ratio dropping to 4.21 percent—a decrease of 143 basis points from the prior year.
Furthermore, PBB's total equity increased to P21.2 billion. The bank maintained strong regulatory positions, with a capital adequacy ratio of 13 percent and a minimum liquidity ratio of 24.1 percent, both comfortably above required thresholds.