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 P87.92 billion in the first 10 months of 2022, up by 37.7% from the P63.86 billion it booked in the same period a year earlier.
The BSP recognized P87.92 billion in net gains from foreign exchange rate fluctuations in the first 10 months of the year, significantly higher than the P10.39-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 P59 against the dollar in October 2022. The local currency has since rebounded, closing at P54.63 versus the greenback on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the BSP’s total revenues fell by 18.3% year on year to P116.12 billion as of October 2022 from the P142.05 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 P125.57 billion, increasing by 31.6% from the P95.43 billion at end-October 2021.
Meanwhile, miscellaneous income — which includes trading gains, fees, and penalties — stood at a P9.44-billion net loss as of October 2022, a turnaround from the P46.63-billion gains in the comparable period a year prior.
The central bank’s expenses grew by 18.8% to P105.17 billion as of October from P88.55 billion a year prior. Interest expense grew by 25.8% to P63.31 billion from P50.34 billion.
Total assets held by the BSP went down by 8.7% to P7.314 trillion as of October last year from P8.013 trillion in the same period in 2021.
Liabilities slid by 8.2% to P7.229 trillion from P7.877 trillion a year earlier.
The BSP’s net worth stood at P85.35 billion at end-October, falling by 37% from P135.58 billion a year prior. — K.B. Ta-asan