PNB Delivers Strong 20% Net Income Growth for 2025

Philippine National Bank (PSE: PNB) recorded consolidated net income of ₱25.3 billion for full-year 2025, reflecting a 20% increase from the previous year.

PNB's sustained earnings growth was driven by the solid performance of its core businesses, strong balance sheet management, prudent cost controls, and continued operational efficiency. (Photo: 168 Shopping Mall) 

This robust performance lifted return on equity (ROE) to 11.1%, an improvement of 70 basis points from 2024.

Sustained earnings growth was driven by the solid performance of its core businesses, strong balance sheet management, prudent cost controls, and continued operational efficiency.

The bank’s loan portfolio expanded 15% year on year, with consumer loans posting the largest increase at 27%. Corporate and commercial loans grew 13%.

The sustained lending momentum, supported by healthy asset yields and a low-cost funding base, translated into a net interest margin of 4.51%. PNB’s deposit base also strengthened, surpassing the one-trillion-peso mark to reach ₱1.06 trillion, up 9% from December 2024.

In 2025, the bank demonstrated significant improvement in asset quality, with the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio declining to 4.7% from 5.7% in 2024.

This reflects the effectiveness of the bank’s NPL stabilization strategy, which includes tighter portfolio reviews and the use of dynamic risk-scoring and monitoring models.

Active engagement with corporate and commercial clients enabled timely interventions and more effective account resolution.

Chief Financial Officer Francis Albalate highlighted the strong momentum in non-interest income.

“Fee-generating businesses, including deposits, loans, credit cards, trust operations, bancassurance, and other non-interest earnings, provided solid support to the bank’s performance in 2025, reflecting our strengthened drive to expand revenue capabilities.

Together, these gains underscore PNB’s expanding franchise and the growing confidence of our customers across all segments,” he said.

Operating expenses grew at a slower pace than total operating income, resulting in further improvement in the bank’s cost-efficiency ratio to 48.2% from 49.6% in 2024.

President and CEO Edwin Bautista said, “The bank’s overall performance in 2025 marked another milestone for PNB.”

He added, “Following the modernization of our core banking system and ATM switch, we significantly enhanced customer acquisition efforts and strengthened our ability to capitalize on market opportunities. Our digital app user base grew 26%, a testament to increasing customer trust as we continue to upgrade our digital capabilities.”

During the year, the bank invested significantly in improving operational efficiency and elevating customer experience by upskilling more than 1,000 employees in digital-age banking, ethical AI utilization, data protection, and agile methodologies — strengthening organizational readiness for future growth.

PNB also strengthened its partnership with Mastercard through a formal engagement to develop and implement tokenization for digital payments.

The collaboration underscores the shared commitment to delivering secure, seamless, and rewarding digital payment experiences for Filipino consumers.

Through tokenized digital wallet integrations, the bank is building a modern payments infrastructure aligned with global security standards and evolving customer trends — supporting scalable growth and a more resilient digital ecosystem.

PNB’s mobile banking app, PNB Digital, was recognized internationally as the “Best Mobile Banking Experience in the Philippines” at the International Business Magazine Awards 2025.

This marks its third international accolade, further reinforcing its reputation as a multi-awarded digital banking platform known for innovation, security, and customer-centric convenience.

The bank also raised ₱15.7 billion through a dual-tranche three-year and five-year ASEAN Sustainability Bond issuance under its ₱50-billion Bond and Commercial Paper Program.

The transaction marked PNB’s successful return to the domestic debt capital market since 2019 and generated an order book more than 5.2 times oversubscribed from the initial target size, reflecting strong support from both institutional and retail investors.

Additionally, PNB Trust was recognized by The Asset for the second consecutive year as one of the Top Investment Houses for 2025, further demonstrating the bank’s strength in trust and investment management services.