The year 2022 was another banner year for China Bank. We continued to deliver on our strategic priorities and to help our clients and other stakeholders recover and move successfully forward.
We recorded better-than-expected financial results in 2022. China Bank’s net income reached an all-time high of PHP19.1 billion, up 27%. Our return on equity of 15.1% was the highest among the major domestic universal banks in the country. We maintained our position as the fourth largest private domestic bank with total assets of PHP1.3 trillion, up 20%.
As we pursued growth, we continued to work towards governance excellence, digitalization, and sustainability.
We are driven to do what’s right and to do right by our stakeholders, and in 2022, our commitment to high governance standards was again recognized. The ASEAN Capital Markets Forum named China Bank as among the Top 20 Publicly Listed Companies in ASEAN and among the Top 3 in the Philippines. The Bank was also distinguished as an ASEAN Asset Class. The Institute of Corporate Directors conferred its highest governance recognition to China Bank, the Five-Golden Arrow Award, making us the only bank in the country with such an honor.
Boosting Financial Inclusion
online account opening mobile app China Bank START. We also actively promote digital payments to drive financial inclusion. China Bank was among the first banks to be part of PesoNet, InstaPay, QRPH person-to-person (QRPH P2P), and QRPH person-tomerchant (QRPH P2M).
To serve customers’ cash and other banking needs, we also beefed up our ATM network to 1,044 nationwide. In remote areas where deploying and servicing an ATM is difficult, we provide POS Cashout Service, enabling customers to withdraw from their debit or ATM accounts via a POS terminal. In the aftermath of Typhoon Paeng in October 2022, our POS Cashout Service in Maguindanao helped affected families in the province and nearby towns, which lacked ATM and cash out facilities, with their cash needs.
To further embed sustainability in the way we do business, we redefined our sustainability strategy and created a Sustainability Oversight Committee.
In 2022, we deployed nearly PHP19 billion in loans to MSMEs and over PHP36 billion in loans for energy access and renewable energy projects. In addition, our investment banking subsidiary, China Bank Capital, raised over
PHP43 billion in sustainabilityrelated financing.
These developments support our continuing mission to be a catalyst of wealth and value creation for our stakeholders. Through our products and services, we help our customers achieve their financial and business goals.
And by conducting our business ethically and responsibly, we contribute to a sustainable future for all.
We are committed to doing everything we can to be worthy of our stakeholders’ trust and to making a positive impact on the environment and on the lives of the people we serve.