MANILA, Philippines — China Banking Corporation (ChinaBank), a member of the SM Group, announced a 12% increase in its consolidated net income, reaching ₱22.6 billion for the first nine months of 2026 compared to ₱20.2 billion during the same period the previous year.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the bank reported a return on equity (ROE) of 15.6% and a return on assets (ROA) of 1.6%. This financial performance was supported by the growth of its core operations and an improved net interest margin of 4.73%, which pushed net interest income up by 14% to ₱60.7 billion.
Net loans experienced a 19% increase, reaching ₱1.2 trillion and lifting total balance sheet assets by 12% year-on-year to ₱1.9 trillion as of September 2026. Total deposits also grew by 9% to ₱1.5 trillion, bolstered by a 19% surge in low-cost checking and savings accounts (CASA) that brought the CASA ratio to 49%.
The bank maintained solid asset quality, with its non-performing loan (NPL) ratio holding steady at 1.5%. Provisions for impairment and credit losses were recorded at ₱1.9 billion, down from ₱7 billion in the comparative period of 2025, while NPL coverage stood at 102%.
Operating expenses rose 13% to ₱28.6 billion due to ongoing investments in digital transformation and business expansion, resulting in a cost-to-income ratio of 49%.
Total equity expanded 6% to ₱195 billion, raising the book value per share to ₱72.52. Furthermore, ChinaBank maintained healthy capital adequacy buffers, reporting a Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 14.65% and a total capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 15.53%.