Corporate News 2011

In celebration of its 16th Anniversary, Chinatrust Philippines, a subsidiary of the largest private commercial bank in Taiwan, teamed up with National Book Store Foundation, Inc., the social arm of National Book Store, Inc. to launch its new Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program. Dubbed as Chinatrust "Better Readers. Brighter Future.", the program aims to promote literacy and readership awareness among public elementary students through the establishment of a mobile library collection consisting of a wide range of outstanding and well-chosen books. The mobile library shall visit the six (6) public schools designated by Chinatrust for two weeks each, allowing students to freely browse and read the library selection. During this period, Chinatrust and National Book Store employees will alternately conduct activities in line with reading such as storytelling, art and writing workshops with illustrators and book authors, and other various activities that will stimulate and enhance the reading interest of students. Present during the signing ceremony were: (from left) Chinatrust Senior Vice President for Human Resource and Administration, Jun Mendoza; National Book Store, Inc. General Manager Socorro Ramos; Chinatrust President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Chen; and National Book Store Foundation, Inc. Chairman Trina Licauco-Alindogan.

In its desire to further pursue corporate citizenship projects in support of education, Chinatrust (Philippines) Commercial Bank Corporation, in partnership with AiHu Foundation, recently donated ten (10) computer units to the Bulacan Polytechnic College (BPC) -- a newly built extension campus of Bulacan State University located in Pandi Bulacan. Previously, the Bank also donated computer units to five (5) elementary schools in the 1st District of Zamboanga del Sur and to Goodwill Industries of the Philippines, Inc. Present during the turnover ceremony are (from left): Michael Su, president and owner of United Asia Integrated Farm, Inc. and AiHu Foundation's liason to the Office of the Mayor; Jun Mendoza, senior vice president for human resource and administration of Chinatrust; Hon. Mayor Enrico Roque of Pandi, Bulacan; Joey de Vera, BPC administrator; and Wendell Edu, supervisor of AiHu Foundation (not in photo).

Chinatrust (Philippines) Commercial Bank continues to solidify its position as one of the country’s leading foreign banks as it reported a net income of PhP410.0 million as of year-end 2010, an increase of 20.84 percent over the PhP339.0 generated the previous year. This translated to 7.3 percent return on equity (ROE) and 1.6 percent return on assets (ROA).

The increase in net income was attributed to better margins on account of lower cost of funds, as well as substantial increases in the Bank’s income from Treasury operations.

The favorable economic environment that prevailed last year allowed Chinatrust to take advantage of the opportunities in the bond markets. As a result, trading gains and foreign exchange gains amounted to PhP307.0 million, an increase of 90.33 percent over the PhP161.0 million generated the previous year. Net interest income on the other hand, amounted to PhP1.556 billion for the same period under review, or an increase of 3.6 percent from the PhP1.502 billion the previous year.

For the year 2010, Chinatrust has set aside some PhP286.95 million as provisions for impairment and credit losses, maintaining its conservative stance on loan loss provisioning. The Bank’s capital adequacy ratio (CAR) – a key measure of financial strength – was recorded at 24.68 percent as of year-end, higher than industry average and substantially higher than the BSP requirement of 10.0 percent.

Chinatrust Philippines has one of the largest branch networks among foreign banks in the country. It is a subsidiary of Chinatrust Commercial Bank (CTCB), one of the 200 biggest banks in the world in terms of capital and the most awarded banking institution in Taiwan.