BANK of the Philippine Islands (BPI) expects its second-half performance to be similar to or slightly better than the first six months of 2026, with the lender citing a resilient corporate loan pipeline despite a more cautious business environment.
BPI President and CEO Jose Teodoro Limcaoco said the bank remained committed to supporting customers through good or bad economic cycles.
"We have to be there with our clients through good times and bad times," he said during a media briefing marking BPI's 175th anniversary on Monday.
"When times turn better, they will remember who supported them."
The Ayala-led bank last week reported that first-half net income had slipped 0.4 percent year on year to P32.8 billion as higher provisions and operating expenses offset double-digit revenue growth.
Chief Finance Officer and Chief Sustainability Officer Eric Luchangco said BPI typically performs better in the second half of the year but conceded that geopolitical developments had affected the usual seasonal trend.
"We think there's good reason for us to expect that we can see a little better performance in the second half," he said.
Luchangco added that the bank expected "a similar performance or slightly higher performance in the second half versus the first half" while noting that the conflict in the Middle East had disrupted historical patterns.
He said the increase in provisions during the second quarter was largely due to updates in BPI's expected credit loss model following changes in macroeconomic assumptions, adding that further provisioning would depend on whether macroeconomic conditions deteriorate further.
"If it stays the same, then there's going to be no more addition to account for macroeconomic conditions. If it improves, we might actually see a return on some of those provisions," he said.
On the corporate banking side, BPI said it was maintaining its full-year loan growth target of eight percent to 10 percent, supported by project finance pipelines.
Luis Cruz, head of institutional banking, said companies remained generally on schedule in implementing projects but were relying more on internally generated cash instead of borrowings because of the prevailing interest-rate environment.
Cruz said loan demand remained strong in the power sector, but added that the bank was taking a more prudent approach to Metro Manila real estate projects even as it continued to see opportunities outside the National Capital Region.
For consumer banking, Maria Cristina Go said spending had become more measured, with customers prioritizing essential purchases over discretionary expenses. She said loan growth had also become “more tempered” compared with the previous year.
Go explained that the bank continued to see opportunities in the secondary housing market, construction loans, solar mortgage financing and electric vehicle lending, adding that BPI's electric vehicle loan portfolio had exceeded P20 billion as of the second quarter, growing 19 percent from last year.
Limcaoco, meanwhile, stressed that maintaining customer trust remained central to the bank's strategy as it navigates the changing economic conditions.
"Our biggest asset is the trust that people have placed with us for 175 years," he said.
BPI shares on Monday climbed P2.30, or 2.24 percent, to close at P104.80 each.
