Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB) announced it has declared cash dividends of eight percent for preferred and one percent for common shareholders.
Col. Emmanuel V. De Ocampo, PVB chairman, said the cash dividends were approved in the recent annual stockholders' meeting held at the Veterans Federation of the Philippines compound on Arroceros St., Manila. More than 3,000 World War II veterans and their heirs attended the meeting.
The stockholders' meeting was also highlighted by the election of the bank's Board of Directors. Elected to the 11-member PVB Board were Col. Emmanuel V. de Ocampo, Atty. Peregrino M. Andres, Ricardo A. Balbido, Jr., Engr. Antonio A. Balgos, Commo. Vicente R. Buenaventura, Atty. Democrito T. Mendoza, Atty. Eduardo P. Pilapil, Gen. Umberto A. Rodriguez, Atty. Romeo G. Roxas, Atty. Ramon P. Miranda and Jose A. Nuņez, Jr.
Balbido, PVB president, also reported that PVB had an audited net income of P417 million in 2006, an 18.6% jump from the 2005 figure of P350 million. This is net of impairments after the application of the new International Accounting Standards or IAS. The private bank's total assets likewise increased by 37.7% to P29.6 billion from 2005's P29.39 billion. The bank's capital base grew 10.7 % to P4.2 billion from P3.8 billion in 2005.
Balbido attributed the increase in income to higher earnings from corporate & retail loans, higher gains from investments and improved fee-based income. He also reported that the Bank's capital adequacy ratio stood at 29.85% as of 2006 year-end, way above the Bangko Sentral's minimum requirement of 10% and the banking industry average of 19%. Capital adequacy is used to measure the capacity of banks to shoulder risks.
As of the first quarter of 2007, Balbido also said that Veterans Bank's total assets are now at P33.0 billion or an 11% increase from the 2006 yearend figures. The growth was also attributed to increased deposits.
Meantime, PVB is looking at expanding it's branch network this 2007, with the Bangko Sentral's lifting of the moratorium on new branches. At present, PVB has 45 branches nationwide, most recent was in the municipality of Sual in Pangasinan.
Philippine Veterans Bank is a private bank, but has the advantage of an authorized depository of government funds. PVB officials said that they have been offering banking services that fit the growing needs of both government agencies and private businesses.
The bank is exclusively owned by some 390,000 World War II veterans, widows and their heirs. As part of its charter, PVB provides 20 percent of its net income yearly to programs for the benefit and welfare of its shareholders. These are being used to support two major initiatives to address the pressing needs of our WW2 veterans today.
Among these are the Veterans Federation of the Philippines (VFP) Out-Patient Center and VFP War Museum, Library and Archives, a repository of war memorabilia and a state-of-the-art showcase of the veterans' heroism for today's generation.
The Out-Patient Center, on the other hand, is a modern medical facility that provides free medicine, medical and dental care to elderly veterans, conceived to decongest the government-run Veterans Memorial Medical Center or VMMC.
For any questions or clarifications, please call:
Mike Villa-Real
Vice-President
Corporate Communications Dept.
Tel 751-8578; Fax 751-8577
Email:
mcvillareal@veteransbank.com.ph
