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By Likha C. Cuevas-Miel, Reporter
THE investment banking arm of the Metrobank
group announced that its profit last year surged due to the
“strong revival” of the fixed income and equities market,
increasing the underwriting business it cornered.
In a statement, First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC)
said its net income in 2007 grew by 33 percent to P1.41 billion
year-on-year and was the highest level recorded by the bank. Its
return on equity (ROE), a measure of the amount of profits
shareholders earned from their investment in the company, stood at
17 percent while total resources rose by 14.5 percent to P44.8
billion at end-December.
FMIC said its active participation in the
initial public offerings and debt issues of companies allowed it to
book significant gains from fee income. Some of the fixed income
transactions last year include the government’s retail Treasury
bonds Tranche 9, which raised P 77.6 billion, and the triple A rated
P5-billion bond issue of the Asian Development Bank.
Besides its underwriting business, FMIC also
earned from interest income and trading gains while its investment
advisory group also managed to post a 10-percent increase to P156
million in income from stock market trading. The investment bank
also recorded significant private equity gains from major
subsidiaries and affiliates like Philippine Axa Life, First Metro
Securities and Orix Metro.
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