Philippine National Bank (PNB) aims to maintain its strong profit growth this year as it continues to expand its core businesses based on its investment in technology and strong capital position.
The Chairman and Chief Executive of PNB said the bank wants to grow its consumer business as its modernized core banking system and risk buffers give it enough room to grow.FIser Edwin R. Bautista told reporters on the sidelines of a central bank event on Friday.
“Number one, if you look at our capital adequacy ratio, we are pushing at 20%. We are highly capitalized. That means we are not short of capital. We can be more aggressive,” he said.
“Last year, we fixed our core banking [system]. We modernized. So, generally, if you attack a consumer business, that's one of your fears. Will my system break? Since it is modern, it gives us confidence“Believing we can take this forward.”
PNB's attributable net income increased 25.88% year-on-year to P5.96 billion in the third quarter of 2025 amid higher revenues. This brought its nine-month profit to P18.42 billion, up 23.18% from the same period in 2024.
Meanwhile, its capital adequacy ratio as of end-September 2025 stood at 20.79%.
Revenue is also expected to expand at the same double-digit pace amid rising margins and improving asset quality, Mr Bautista said.
It is also expected to post better cost-to-income ratio as the bank has already completed the upgrade of its core banking system, which forms the bulk of its capital expenditure, he said.
Meanwhile, PNB is also considering reducing the number of its branches to 600 from the current 635 as it continues to streamline its network, with Mr Bautista adding that the number may come down to 500 in the near term.
“We may eventually get there at this rate. The BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) has just announced that the rate of digitalization in the Philippines is faster than their original forecast. People are going digital very fast,” he said.
“We have fixed the core bank. The next thing is that we can now use AI (artificial intelligence) and automation to streamline our processes. Natural ConclusionThe sequence will be orderly.
Mr Bautista said he aims to become one of the three largest banks in the country in terms of assets, capital and net income in the coming years.
“We are realistic. But we can reach the top three. PNB was number one earlier. So, we are there. You want to retain the old glory. But we are in no hurry,” he said.
PNB was the eighth-largest bank in terms of assets with P1.24 trillion at the end of September 2025, central bank data showed. All private banks in the top three have assets above P3 trillion.
PNB shares closed at P61.10, down 25 centavos or 0.41% on Monday. — AMC Sy