Chinabank hits all-time high profit of P24.8 billion in 2024

China Banking Corporation (Chinabank, PSE symbol: CBC) booked a record net income of P24.8 billion in 2024, up 13% year-on-year. The sustained strength of core businesses lifted the bank’s earnings for the year, which translated to a return on equity of 15.6% and return on assets of 1.6%.

“We continue to remain focused on executing our strategies to deliver quality service to our customers and stellar financial results to all our stakeholders,” Chinabank President & Chief Executive Officer Romeo D. Uyan Jr. said. “Our ongoing business transformation as well as solid fundamentals will allow us to sustain our growth in the coming years.”

The bank generated 21% higher revenues of P65.5 billion mainly from net interest income which grew by 19% to P63.5 billion on the back of asset base expansion and improvement in net interest margin to 4.5%.

As Chinabank continued to pursue its growth strategies, operating expenses reached P30.7 billion, up 14% on sustained investments in manpower and technology, and volume-related taxes. Nonetheless, cost-to-income ratio improved to 47%.

Taking a more proactive stance against portfolio risks despite the easing of its non-performing loans (NPL) ratio to 1.6%, the bank also increased its credit provisions to P3.3 billion. The resulting NPL coverage was higher at 139%.

Total assets stood at P1.6 trillion, up 11%, maintaining its status as the 4th largest private universal bank in the country.

Chinabank Chief Finance Officer Patrick D. Cheng said the bank’s balance sheet remains strong. “With ample liquidity and a solid capital structure, we can confidently support our institutional and retail customers and advance our growth strategies while ensuring financial stability through market volatilities and economic challenges.”

Gross loans increased by 18% to P933 billion on higher loan demand across all customer segments. Meanwhile, total deposits grew by 12% to P1.3 trillion.

Total capital was 12% higher at P169 billion, with capital ratios well above the regulatory requirements: 15.3% common equity tier 1 ratio and 16.2% total capital adequacy ratio. Book value per share was at P62.61, up 12%.

Chinabank’s continued strong performance coupled with enhanced investor confidence pushed its stock price to double in 2024. Starting February this year, CBC is back on the benchmark 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange Index.

Good environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices underpin Chinabank’s financial strength. It won the Institute of Corporate Directors’ highest recognition, the Five-Golden Arrow Award for governance excellence, for the third straight year in 2024, and The Asset’s ESG Corporate Award in the same year. Chinabank is also among the handful of Philippine companies that made it in TIME and Statista’s ranking of the top firms based on employee satisfaction, revenue growth, and ESG data—World’s Best Companies of 2024 and Asia Pacific’s Best Companies of 2025.

The bank recently released the best iteration of its mobile app, My CBC, with an intuitive interface, advanced security, and improved features like biometrics log-in, mobile check deposit, and digital account opening. It also launched its first Visa-branded credit card, Chinabank Velvet Visa Signature.