Metrobank trims costs 6.7% to post 11% profit increase

Metrobank President Arthur Ty says his bank will continue to cut costs to boost the bottom line, and it's working.

Compared to approximately $58 million for the half of 2008, Metrobank reported a net income of $64 million for the same period this year. The bank attributes the said growth to higher net interest income, which rose 30 percent, and operating expenses falling 6.7 percent.

In a report by BusinessMirror, Ty said, "Interest margins and trading gains contribute strongly to the bottom line even as we provision aggressively and improve our cost-income ratio."

Metrobank's bottom line for the second quarter of 2009 reached over $24 million, an 11 percent increase compared to last year's results.