25 April 2017, Makati, Philippines – During the annual stockholders’ meeting of Security Bank Corporation (PSE: SECB) on Tuesday, 25 April 2017, the stockholders approved the amendment of the Articles of Incorporation to increase the number of Board seats to 15 from 11. Elected to the Security Bank Board during the stockholders’ meeting are incumbent directors Philip T. Ang (independent), Anastasia Y. Dy, Frederick Y. Dy, Takayoshi Futae, Joseph R. Higdon (independent), James JK Hung (independent), Takahiro Onishi, Alfonso L. Salcedo, Jr., Rafael F. Simpao, Jr., Paul Y. Ung and Alberto S. Villarosa, and new directors Diana P. Aguilar, Ramon R. Jimenez (independent), Jikyeong Kang (independent) and Napoleon L. Nazareno (independent) to fill in the four additional seats. The election to the Board of the four additional directors will take effect upon Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of the amendment to the Articles of Incorporation for the increase in number of board seats. During the organizational Board meeting, key appointments were for Frederick Y. Dy as Chairman Emeritus, Alberto S. Villarosa as Chairman, Paul Y. Ung as Vice Chairman, and Alfonso L. Salcedo, Jr. as President and Chief Executive Officer.

In his report on 2016 operations, President and CEO Mr. Alfonso L. Salcedo, Jr. highlighted the record-high net income of Php 8.55 billion, an increase of 11% from previous year. This result was driven by buoyant growth in core recurring income. Net interest income increased 28% to Php 15.9 billion, which more than offset the Php 1.1 billion decrease in trading gains. Gains on sale of securities were lower at Php 1.8 billion from Php 2.9 billion in 2015. In April 2016, Security Bank’s capital was boosted by The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd.’s (BTMU’s) Php 37 billion equity investment, a key milestone for Security Bank. Security Bank’s capital increased 83% to Php 97 billion at year-end 2016. Security Bank rose from eighth largest to fifth largest in capital among private domestic universal banks in the country. The Bank’s Core Equity Tier 1 and Total Capital Adequacy ratios were among the highest in the industry and well above the minimum regulatory requirements at year-end 2016. With the higher capital, Security Bank’s return on shareholders’ equity moved from industry-leading 15.2% in 2015 to industry average in 2016 at 10.4%. The cost-to-income ratio remained at an efficient 50% even as the Bank continued to invest in information technology, people and branches for scalability of the business.

Also highlighted was Security Bank’s continuing healthy growth. Total assets grew 31% to Php 695 billion versus industry’s 13% growth rate, sustaining Security Bank’s position among the five largest private domestic universal banks in the country by total resources. Loans increased 22% to Php 289 billion, faster than industry’s 17% growth rate. Loan growth was driven by wholesale loans which grew 18% and consumer loans which increased 56% mainly from home and auto loans. Asset quality remained healthy with net non-performing loan (NPL) ratio at 0.17%, about half of the industry’s 0.32%. The Bank’s NPL cover was 204%, higher than industry’s 145%. Supported by a larger branch network, deposits grew 20% to Php 347 billion, versus industry’s 14% growth rate. The Bank added 28 new branches and 67 new ATMs, bringing its network to 290 branches and 622 ATMs at year-end. During the year, Security Bank paid total cash dividends of Php 2.00 per share. This is the 15th consecutive year that the Bank has paid cash dividends.

“2016 was a strong, milestone year for us. We remained focused on three areas, which are to: deliver the BetterBanking experience which is professional, problem-free, personalized and prompt customer service; build the retail banking business to complement our existing strengths in wholesale banking and financial markets; and regain industry-leading ROE within the next five years. We were also honoured to have been named Bank of the Year – Philippines back-to-back awardee by The Banker, after winning this award in 2015 and earlier in 2012. We were also named Philippines’ Best Bank by Euromoney in 2016,” said Mr. Alfonso L. Salcedo, Jr.

Security Bank also received various awards in management excellence, corporate banking and treasury, brand marketing, product innovation, investor relations, and corporate social responsibility in 2016.