THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) net profit plunged by almost 60 percent in 2023 from a year earlier as expenses grew faster than revenues, preliminary data showed.

The central bank earned P25.53 billion last year based on its unaudited financial statements, 59.9 percent lower than the P63.73 billion recorded in 2022.

Revenues of P212.76 billion and P244.21 billion in spending were respectively 50.8 percent and 68.3 percent higher than the previous year's P141.08 billion and P145.13 billion.

The resulting loss of P31.45 billion was offset by P57.02-billion net gain from foreign exchange revaluations, leading to the full-year net income after tax of P25.53 billion.

Interest income accounted for the bulk of last year's revenues at P192.92 billion, up from P153.2 billion in 2022, while the remaining P14.84 billion came from miscellaneous income.

Interest expenses, meanwhile, also took up the largest share of last year's expenses at 168.29 billion, nearly double 2022's P85.63 billion.

Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the nearly twofold rise in interest expenses was driven by elevated global and local interest rates that substantially amplified debt servicing costs.

"Higher prices could have also led to higher expenses," he added.

The BSP ended 2023 with total assets of P7.563 trillion, up 4.4 percent from 2022's P7.247 trillion.

Total liabilities, meanwhile, rose by 4.0 percent to P7.42 trillion from P7.136 trillion..

The central bank's net worth increased to P142.73 billion last year, higher than the P111.02 billion recorded in 2022.

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