BSP’s net income up in first 10 months of 2022

THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) booked higher net earnings as of end-October 2022 amid gains from foreign exchange (FX) movements.

Preliminary data on the BSP’s website showed the central bank recorded a net income of PHP 87.92 billion in the first 10 months of 2022, up by 37.7% from the PHP 63.86 billion it booked in the same period a year earlier.

The BSP recognized PHP 87.92 billion in net gains from foreign exchange rate fluctuations in the first 10 months of the year, significantly higher than the PHP 10.39-billion net gain it posted in January-October 2021.

The BSP records gains or losses from foreign exchange (FX) rate fluctuations on matured, sold, paid and exchanged or settled FX assets and liabilities.

The peso hit a new all-time low of PHP 59 against the dollar in October 2022. The local currency has since rebounded, closing at PHP 54.63 versus the greenback on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the BSP’s total revenues fell by 18.3% year on year to PHP 116.12 billion as of October 2022 from the PHP 142.05 billion posted in the same period a year earlier.

The central bank’s revenues mostly came from interest income on foreign investments and government securities.

Its interest income stood at PHP 125.57 billion, increasing by 31.6% from the PHP 95.43 billion at end-October 2021.

Meanwhile, miscellaneous income — which includes trading gains, fees, and penalties — stood at a PHP 9.44-billion net loss as of October 2022, a turnaround from the PHP 46.63-billion gains in the comparable period a year prior.

The central bank’s expenses grew by 18.8% to PHP 105.17 billion as of October from PHP 88.55 billion a year prior. Interest expense grew by 25.8% to PHP 63.31 billion from PHP 50.34 billion.

Total assets held by the BSP went down by 8.7% to PHP 7.314 trillion as of October last year from PHP 8.013 trillion in the same period in 2021.

Liabilities slid by 8.2% to PHP 7.229 trillion from PHP 7.877 trillion a year earlier.

The BSP’s net worth stood at PHP 85.35 billion at end-October, falling by 37% from PHP 135.58 billion a year prior. — K.B. Ta-asan